School Board Prepares to Issue Layoff Notices to Eleven District Employees

Though last night’s meeting of the Cabrillo Unified School District started off on a festive note, with costumed second and third grade actors treating the crowd to a scene from a recent performance of Shakespeare’s “A Comedy of Errors,” a melancholic undercurrent loomed large over a packed district office assembly room.

More than 60 citizens jammed into the room, many standing in doorways, just to hear last night’s discussion firsthand. While the Governing Board’s agenda included seven action items, the one most people in attendance came to discuss was a resolution that would result in a number of layoffs throughout the district.

Superintendent Robert Gaskill explained that part of the board’s duty for the night was to approve a resolution that would set a total of eleven provisional layoffs in motion, as well as cuts to parts of existing positions and services. Ten elementary school teachers are slated to receive preliminary layoff notices by March 15, as well as Farallone View Elementary School principal Pamela Gire.

Gaskill opened the discussion of the forthcoming layoffs by telling the room that “This situation is not the fault of any of these people [receiving notices],” expressing that the selection of those individuals did not have to do with their professional abilities. Rather, the decision came down to what administrative role the board and superintendent decided could best be filled in other ways.

“We looked at our administrative team and asked ‘What is the level of expertise we have?’” Gaskill told the crowd, explaining that the decision to let Gire go came down in large part to the fact that Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Schuck had prior experience as an elementary school teacher, and could therefore help fill the role at Farallone View.

“What made sense to me is to bring someone in from our staff who has been an elementary school principal,” he said. “We will all be reinventing ourselves and our roles as a management team.”

Gaskill added that seniority also factored into the decision, and that with only a year of principal experience at the school, Gire became the most obvious candidate.

Many attendees at the three-hour session were parents of Farallone View students, who expressed their concerns during a public comment period. While most said they understood that cuts were necessary, many stated that they thought Farallone View was being unfairly targeted, and that they were willing to work with the board to see if cuts could be made elsewhere.

“Schools are meant to serve and educate students, therefore cuts must be made as far from school sites as possible,” parent Liz Murphy said.

Board member Freya McCamant, who has worked closely with Farallone View families, expressed her hope that a resolution can be reached that would satisfy both administrators and parents. “Maybe there’s an opportunity here to look at how we govern Farallone View,” she said. “I’m really excited to have all of you [parents] working with district staff.”

After provisional layoff notices are issued on or before the March 15 deadline, Gaskill explained, the district will have two months to hear other options before handing out final notices by May 15.

Board president John Moseley displayed some optimism about the forthcoming changes. “I have confidence that you’ll work with Rob and we’ll come up with a best case scenario,” he said.

Budget Shortfall and Response

The layoffs, as well as impending district-wide cuts to programs including English Language Development, Foreign Languages and music, come in an attempt to resolve a $1.5 million structural deficit in the budget.

With California’s budget still in crisis, the district may well find itself needing to make drastic cuts each year to avoid a deficit that would widen without action, according to Chief Business Official Wael Saleh, who presented a recommendation that the board issue a positive certification for the Second Interim Financial Report. The board adopting positive certification means that the district will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year, as well as for the next two years.

Among other items the board approved last night were a resolution to enter a California School Boards Association Sponsored Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note Agreement and support for a state revenue extension measure to be placed on the June ballot for voter approval.

The measure, proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, would call for a five-year extension to some temporary taxes, and would ensure that California schools receive flat funding for the 2011-2012 school year.

“We have a governor’s budget proposal which is as good as it can be for public education at the moment,” Gaskill said, adding that, “This situation is playing out in every district in the state.”

The board also voted to approve a resolution that would place funding responsibility for students with disabilities on County Mental Health Services, saving the district the cost of the funding.