The San Diego Unified School District announced it has rescinded all but nine of the 234 notices of potential layoffs it said it issued to teachers in March.

However, about 60 classified, or non-teaching, employees are still set to be laid off, SDUSD board President Shana Hazan said May 16.

Elementary school teachers, counselors and secondary teachers in English, physical education and social science were spared from being laid off, according to the San Diego Unified teachers union, which had rallied against the cuts over the past several weeks.

To rescind the layoffs, the district struck a deal with the union May 14 to create “student support” jobs at high-needs schools for up to 50 educators who would otherwise be laid off, said Kyle Weinberg, president of the union, the San Diego Education Association. Those student support educators will provide small-group instruction or fill in for early-childhood staffing vacancies in transitional kindergarten classrooms.

The district and the union said the agreement was meant to help preserve staffing stability in schools. The deal also preserves pay levels for the student support teachers, Weinberg said.

The district and the union said the agreement was meant to help preserve staffing stability in schools. The deal also preserves pay levels for the student support teachers, Weinberg said.

Having educators in the student support positions also gives the district flexibility to call on them if regular classroom teaching vacancies open during the school year without having to incur costs of hiring temporary contract staff, Weinberg wrote in a message to union members May 16.

“The superintendent was adamant about this additional flexibility,” he wrote.

In March, the SDUSD board voted to eliminate the equivalent of more than 480 jobs to help close what was projected to be a $94 million budget deficit for next school year. Those jobs included classroom teachers, central office administrators and many kinds of classified jobs, including special-education support, bus drivers, custodians and noon-duty assistants.

The district employs about 12,000 people, and employee costs make up more than 90 percent of its unrestricted budget.

Every year by mid-March, school districts are required by law to issue notices to anyone they may potentially lay off for the following school year, and they have until May 15 to finalize layoffs.

Because mid-March is relatively early in the state budget cycle, districts often are able to rescind many layoffs by mid-May once they get a better idea of their budget outlook for the following school year.

“There’s this mismatch in timing between when we are required to give pink slips, this March 15 date, and the time required to really do the thoughtful financial analysis,” Hazan said.

Besides the union agreement, the district was able to avoid more layoffs because of employee reassignments and transfers to vacant positions, as well as voluntary resignations and retirements, according to Hazan. She also said the district is able to use grant funding and money from restricted funds to help reduce the number.

“The fact that of all the teachers who received layoff notices, there are only nine that remain is a huge testament to the really tireless work that our fiscal and instructional team has done to align our goals for students with available dollars,” Hazan said. ◆

The city of El Paso and El Paso International Airport celebrated Frontier Airlines’ launch of two new nonstop routes.

Just in time for summer plans, travelers can now take advantage of convenient flights to Ontario, California and San Diego, California.

City officials, including Mayor Oscar Leeser, celebrated the nonstop routes at the airport Thursday, May 16 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Director of Aviation Sam Rodriguez expressed his excitement about the new services when announced in March, “these additions further enhance our connectivity, providing travelers with more options and convenience.”

More: Historic 1899 stagecoach to be displayed at El Paso airport

• Ontario, California (ONT): Frontier’s new service to Ontario will operate three days per week, with flights starting Friday, May 17. Ontario is part of the Southern California market, already served by Southwest (LAX and Long Beach) and American (LAX). The addition of Frontier’s flights provides travelers with more options to fly.
• San Diego (SAN): Beginning Thursday, May 16, Frontier will offer nonstop flights to San Diego three days a week. Southwest currently serves San Diego with daily flights, and Frontier’s service will enhance passengers’ travel options, city officials said.

These new routes complement Frontier’s existing service from El Paso to Denver and Las Vegas. 

Where do most tourists go in summer?

Expedia’s Summer Outlook and Google Flights identified the same cities among their most searched summer 2024 destinations based on flights, though rankings varied by platform.

Top 5 domestic destinations 

• New York
• Orlando, Florida
• Los Angeles
• Las Vegas
• Seattle

Top 5 international destinations

USA Today contributed to this story.

Caulerpa Prolifera. That’s the name of an invasive seaweed in California, thats currently growing in the San Diego Bay.

It was first seen in September of last year.

“It was first discovered in the Coronado caves probably from an accidental dumping of a home aquarium into the bay or into a storm train that led to the bay,” said Eileen Mahar, Director of Environmental Conservation at the Port of San Diego.

Since then, it’s spread.

Which oceanography experts say is its specialty.

“So one of the things about the genus Caulerpa … you can cut it up into a whole bunch of pieces and each one of those pieces can continue to grow into a new plant,” said Dr. Jennifer Smith, a Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

This type of seaweed takes over native sea plants that provide food for local turtles, birds and fish.

It’s banned in California due to its environmental risk.

It previously had a variant take over sea life in Carlsbad.

“When they eradicated CPU folia in Carlsbad, they used tarps and then they injected a whole bunch of chlorine bleach underneath the tarp. So they literally nuked everything,” said Smith.

But in the San Diego Bay that won’t be the case, yet.

“I think if that’s a second step, if what we’re doing isn’t working. But as of right now, we believe it’s working,” said Mahar.

For now the dive team will stick to heavy mil plastic tarps with sandbags over it to cut out the sunlight and oxygen.

According to experts, timing is crucial.

“So, the thing with invasive or non native species introductions is if you don’t make efforts early on … it might be past the point of no return,” said Smith.