By Jeff Hudson | Enterprise staff writer

In a crushing repeat of action taken two years ago, the Davis Board of Education will discuss plans for issuing 102 layoff notices, necessitated by a $5.6 million budget shortfall for the 2010-11 school year, when it meets Thursday.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers at City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd. It will be carried live on Davis cable Channel 17, and as live streaming video on the school district's Web site, http://www.djusd.tv.

Also on the agenda are discussion of a possible six-period day (rather than seven periods) for seventh- graders, program reductions for adult education, and the tricky question of when to schedule an election to renew the school district's instructional parcel tax.

The Davis trustees will review a draft resolution that would notify teachers and other certificated workers holding the equivalent of 80.45 full-time positions that they may not have a job for the 2010-11 school year.

The trustees likewise will review a draft version of a companion resolution that would send similar layoff notices to secretaries, custodians and other classified employees working in the equivalent of 21.75 positions.

Those figures are larger than the reduction of 68.3 certificated positions and 20 classified positions outlined in a budget document during the Jan. 21 school board meeting. Associate Superintendent Kevin French said there are several reasons for the larger numbers that the school board will discuss this week.

French said the new figure reflects slight reductions in Spanish Immersion and Montessori staffing 'so that class size in grades K-3 for those services will be at the same ratio' as in regular K-3 classes.

He added, 'I also have had several meetings with secondary principals. We are projecting some changes with the delivery of the seventh- and eighth-grade elective 'wheel' program that accounts for one or two positions.'

The 'elective wheel' is a sort of rotation for course offerings.

'We are also preparing for the possibility of offering a six-period day to all seventh-graders,' French said. 'There are some exceptions; however, this possibility would reduce another one or two positions.'

'Finally,' French said, 'I have adjusted the draft resolution several times in reaction to the changing budget scenarios I receive from Associate Superintendent Bruce Colby and Superintendent James Hammond.'

In spring 2008, Davis issued layoff notices to more than 100 teachers and classified employees. Many of those jobs were saved through community fundraising campaigns spearheaded by the Davis Schools Foundation and the Davis Schools Orchestral Music Association that collected $1.77 million. The funds particularly rescued the elementary science and music programs, and school librarians.

Plans are in the works for another communitywide campaign this spring led by the Davis Schools Foundation.

The district's current budget gap is largely a result of reductions in state funding to local school districts.

On Jan. 22, State Controller John Chiang issued a sharp warning that unless Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature take action promptly, the state could run out of cash in June. That happened last year as well, when the state issued IOUs rather than checks to meet some of its financial obligations.

And this week, representatives of the Obama administration indicated to California's congressional delegation that $1.5 billion in federal funds might be coming to the state - far less than the $6.9 billion the governor had presumed in his January budget revisions.

These two announcements increase the possibility that Schwarzenegger might announce further midyear budget cuts for education as part of his May budget revisions.

School districts must notify teachers and other certificated employees of possible layoffs by March 15, prior to the May revisions. But those notices may be rescinded in the weeks that follow, if the budget situation turns out to be not so dire.

'Our hope is that accelerated attrition due to the (district's) generous retirement incentive, employee concessions and regular attrition (in the form of resignations and leaves) will greatly reduce the need to deliver final layoff notices' by the May 15 notification deadline, French said.

The Davis school board's final vote on the two layoff resolutions is expected at the Feb. 18 school board meeting.

The trustees also will review a plan to cut $150,000 in funding for adult education programs. The cuts would reduce the principal of adult education from three-quarters-time to half-time and trim secretarial hours by 20 percent, with teachers in many courses serving as hourly employees.

The discussion of a future parcel tax renewal will continue a conversation that began during the Jan. 21 school board meeting. The district's two instructional parcel tax measures - Measures Q and W - will both expire in June 2012. The two measures combined cost Davis homeowners $320 per year, and provide the school district with $6.6 million in funding annually to support classroom programs.

One question the trustees likely will consider is whether to go to the voters seeking a renewal in a special election (at an estimated cost of $275,000 or more), a mail-in election (an estimated $200,000 or more) or at the Nov. 10 general election later this year. That election would cost the district an estimated $150,000 and would coincide with the election of three school board members.

The board also may discuss when to schedule a poll of likely voters, with an eye toward determining how large a tax voters are likely to approve. A two-thirds majority is required for approval of a parcel tax.

With the numerous budget reductions the schools are absorbing from the state, the Davis trustees may decide to ask for a larger amount than the current $320 per home per year under Measures Q and W.
This article originally appeared in the Davis Enterprise February 3, 2010. The complete story is available to subscribers at http://www.davisenterprise.com.