Robert Chacon
Twelve La Canada Unified School District teachers face layoffs as the
district tries to pare back $1.5 million of its budget for the coming
school year.
District Supt. Sue Leabo will ask the district board tonight to
consider the reductions.
The district would save a little more than $1 million by laying
off 12 elementary and high school teachers. Leabo will ask the board
to approve cutting four elementary teachers and reducing the hours of
a fifth, eliminating six teachers at La Canada High School, cutting
in half the hours of an elementary music teacher and laying off two
teacher specialists and one full-time support staff member.
Other savings include cutting $100,000 in extra duty and pay for
after-school coaches, $240,000 in layoffs to classified personnel
like secretaries, aides and janitors and $100,000 in supply
reductions, including textbooks, paper and other classroom supplies.
The district will save $45,000 by eliminating bus service to 19
students who live along the Angeles Crest Highway.
Cuts will affect teachers most because more than 80% of the
district's budget is personnel costs.
"There is just no way we can save that kind of money unless it
comes in people," Leabo said.
The district has more than 200 teachers, about half of which teach
at the elementary level. More than 4,300 students attend the
district's schools.
The $1.5 million in cuts is the minimum Leabo is considering until
she gets clearer picture of the outcome of the state budget. More
cuts might be necessary, though she could not say how much more.
Leabo also said she has already identified which specific
positions will be cut, but she will not make those announcements
until after the March 2 election, in which voters will vote on
Measure P, the district's $400 parcel tax on each property within
district boundaries that would raise about $7 million in three years.
A separate measure, Measure B, would raise $25 million for
maintenance of school buildings.
If Measure P does not pass, the $1.5 million in cuts are certain.
If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed $15-billion state bond does
not pass, Leabo said she does not know how much the list of cuts will
grow.
"There is a strong sense of family in our district," said Judi
Healey, a teacher specialist at Palm Crest Elementary. "Because we
are a small district ... the budget [crisis] is hurting us extra
hard. I can't imagine having to make these budget decisions right
now."
Cuts will be based on seniority and whether a teacher has the
appropriate credential to teach a subject.
District board members might defer voting on the recommendations
to a future meeting.
