San Diego Unified plan would cut 438 jobs to shrink budget deficit

The San Diego Unified School District is planning to cut the equivalent of 438 jobs next school year spanning many sectors of the district, from elementary classrooms to special education to daily operations.

The reductions aim to help the district, which has more than 12,000 employees, bridge a roughly $94 million deficit in its unrestricted budget for next school year that district officials identified last month. More than 90 percent of the district’s unrestricted budget goes to staffing costs.

The school board will officially vote on the cuts at a meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Eugene Brucker Education Center, 4100 Normal St. in University Heights.

Under plans published ahead of the meeting, about 220 jobs that require education credentials would be cut, including 94 elementary teachers, 21 instructional coordinators, an additional 21 central office administrators, five vice principals and one principal.

The hundreds of other cuts would hit bus drivers, food service workers, family services assistants, front-office staff, administrative assistants, noon duty assistants, library assistants, special-education staff, behavior support specialists, maintenance workers, relief custodians, police officers, auditors, translators, human-resources staff and more.

The full list of affected positions is posted in the board agenda’s attachments.

Many staff members in those positions will get notices of potential layoffs by next week. Other jobs to be eliminated are already vacant, officials said.

The notices mean the district believes it must reduce or eliminate those positions for financial reasons. Not all staff members who are affected will necessarily be laid off. Some will be reassigned to other jobs in the district.

Employees will be notified of potential layoff or reassignment from Friday, March 8, through Wednesday, March 13, according to a district budget presentation. Layoffs will be made final before May 15.

District officials said they are trying to exhaust other options before laying off staff, including eliminating already-vacant positions when possible.

The district’s budget gap comes as federal COVID-19 relief funds are drying up this fall, the state faces a large budget deficit and the district’s enrollment continues to decline. San Diego Unified also raised its costs last year when it approved 15 percent employee raises.

Many other school districts in San Diego County also are in the midst of cutting positions, including Coronado Unified, Lakeside Union, Mountain Empire Unified and Chula Vista Elementary. ◆