San Diego Unified rescinds almost all potential teacher layoffs

The San Diego Unified School District announced it has rescinded all but nine of the 234 notices of potential layoffs it said it issued to teachers in March.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