EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) -- The Grossmont Union High School District discussed making significant job cuts to its teaching and faculty staff during a board meeting Tuesday evening.
The discussion comes just one week after the San Diego Unified School District announced major layoffs to hundreds of positions.
According to board meeting documents, the Grossmont Union High School District board discussed eliminating exactly 91 positions, 10 of those already being vacant.
The 91 positions include 38 “classified positions,” meaning administrative assistants, interpreters, clerks, accountants, supervisors, and others.
The other 53 positions are “certified services,” and those positions include a dean, directors, program specialists, and vice principals, and more.
Initial notices were sent out to employees that could be impacted by the potential layoffs.
GUHSD Superintendent Mary Beth Kastan sent a letter to school employees recently that stated the layoffs come due to lack of funding and from “a deteriorating state fiscal situation and declining enrollment throughout California.”
Colleagues,
While this is not an easy message to write, I need to provide you with an important update.
As you have likely seen in media reports over the last several months, school districts across the country are preparing for challenging budget times. Some recent reports have even suggested that California's budget situation has worsened since the Legislative Analyst's Office initially pegged the state’s deficit at $68 Billion.
I am extremely proud of the work that our District and Governing Board have done over many years to prepare for times like these. However, given that our District receives the vast majority of our revenue from the State of California, even exemplary budget planning like ours cannot provide complete immunity from a deteriorating state fiscal situation and declining enrollment throughout California.
As we continue to monitor the situation and remain hopeful for a change in the tide, we also have a responsibility to prepare for the difficult days that are likely ahead. That is why I am writing today.
While our District and Governing Board have worked hard to avoid workforce reductions, the current situation makes it very likely that some staff layoffs for next school year will be required.
Under similarly difficult circumstances in the past, our Governing Board’s top priority was always to shield the classroom as much as possible. That principle will continue to guide us as we determine the extent and location of reductions based upon the District’s overall needs.
State law requires school districts to inform any full-time school employee in writing by March 15 of the possibility that they may be released from their position for the following school year that begins July 1. After the District completes its analysis and determines where the reductions are necessary, state law then requires the District, by May 15, to notify any employees who will be released from their positions. If the employee has rights to another position in the District, the May 15 notice will also include the employee’s new assignment.
Given the rapidly-evolving situation and the very tight timeline on which we must conduct our analysis, it is very likely that a larger-than-normal number of layoff notices will be distributed. Limiting the impact on our school sites will require the greatest amount of flexibility possible. Again, if you receive a potential layoff notice on March 15, it does not guarantee that you will be released from your position. A March 15 notice simply informs an employee of the possibility of a layoff should the District ultimately determine that it is necessary.
Having experienced challenging budget times at different points during my 37-year career in this District, I am fully aware of how difficult it must be to read this message. I assure you it was painful for me to write. Still, I thought the most important thing was to be as transparent with you as possible about the situation. I will be sure to provide you with updates as we move forward.
With deep gratitude for your service,
Mary Beth Kastan
Superintendent
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story indicated the Board would vote on Friday, March 15, to finalize layoffs. The school district says it voted on Tuesday, March 12, to send notices of potential layoffs, and the vote finalizing layoffs won’t happen until May.
