Cuts approved by school district board
By: AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer
25 positions eliminated or downgraded, no employees fired | ∞
LAKE ELSINORE -- In a cost-cutting measure, 20 positions were eliminated and five were downgraded by the school district Board of Trustees during a special meeting Wednesday.
The cuts, made in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget, are expected to save the Lake Elsinore Unified School District more than $2.5 million in the fiscal year starting July 1.
Reaction to the board's action was fairly muted as many of the eliminated positions were already expected to be vacated by retiring employees or employees taking jobs elsewhere.
"All the decisions made today resulted in no one losing their jobs," said district spokesman Jose Carvajal.
Most of the position cuts and downgrades, called the first phase of a series of cost-saving moves, targeted administrative and managerial positions in the district's central office. There are another four positions that could be eliminated or downgraded in the next phase of cuts, Carvajal said.
The governor, in his January budget, proposed cutting $4.4 billion, or about 10 percent, from the state's budget funding the public educational system of elementary schools to community colleges, Superintendent Frank Passarella said during the meeting.
School districts throughout Southwest Riverside County and the state will be affected by the cuts, which, when divvied up among the state's districts, should mean a 2.5 percent reduction in expected revenue for fiscal year 2008-09.
"It's a major fiscal crisis," Passarella said.
And, he said, it's not only going to affect the upcoming fiscal year.
Passarella said the state is asking for a half-percent midyear budget adjustment that will slice about $700,000 from the district's current budget.
In making the recommendation to eliminate or downgrade the 25 district office positions, care was taken to keep layoffs and cuts away from the district's classrooms, Passarella said.
The downgrades mean three high school associate principals will become assistant principals and three assistant principals will become deans.
In a normal year, the governor's January budget is a worst-case scenario starting point for negotiations that generally lead to a compromise before the governor's revised budget is released in May, said assistant superintendent Darrin Watters.
"I wouldn't call this a typical year," Watters said, noting that the state's economy isn't likely to improve significantly in a few months.
In addition to the position cuts and downgrades, Passarella said the district would be eliminating any unessential activities, including some board and staff development conferences.
Last week, Passarella announced a salary freeze for all district administrators and managers and a 10 percent reduction in all department budgets, which is expected to save about $1.2 million in the coming fiscal year.
If the worst-case scenario becomes a reality and the district has to cut $3-4 million more from the 2008-09 budget, it could become necessary to "reach into school sites," he said.
Trustee Tom Thomas noted that 84 percent of the district's $165 million operating budget is spent on salaries and benefits for employees.
Depending on the depth of the state's fiscal morass, Thomas said it might be necessary to freeze salaries or discuss benefit reductions.
"This is not something we take lightly," said Trustee Jon Gray. "My hope is that we can minimize the effect of the budget cuts on our employees."
He added: "Is there going to be pain? Yes. But we're going to try and make sure it affects the least number (of employees) possible."
Board President Kim Cousins called on employees to be sensitive to the district's financial situation in their dealings with co-workers.
Talking about his experience in the corporate world, Cousins said he has seen how layoffs can unravel the fabric of a society. And he asked employees to not let that happen in this district.
"Reach out that arm and embrace each other," he said.
But Classified School Employees Association president Jeanette Collins said her membership is a state of panic because the 1,012-member union, working under the terms of the 2006-07 contract, has not yet brokered a deal with the district on a contract for the 2007-08 school year.
"The members' main worry is that our proposal could be pulled off the table," she said.
The Lake Elsinore Teachers Association reached a deal with the district late last year.
Karl Stuck, president of the association, said this week that the association was concerned about not being included in the initial planning stages of the budget cuts.
Carvajal said the district plans on talking with all stakeholders, including teachers, as the budget process continues.
-- Contact Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or e-mail aclaverie@californian.com.
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top heavy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:22 AM:Deans, assistant principals, associate principals, principals, how many layers of management do you need? The fact they were able to accommodate this big of a cut so painlessly tells me they were way too fat on the admin side to begin with. They probably still are.
salary freeze wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:31 AM:Passarela put a salary freeze on all top administrators... thats funny, because he just got a raise and so did all the other assistant superintendants, so while it looks like they are being noble and doing whats best for the district, maybe he should give back the extra $50,000 per year he got himself.... At $175,000 plus benefits, I could wait out the budget crisis too.
Concerned-1 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:42 AM:School bureaucracies and unions are an ugly combination that have devastated California's once nation-leading educational program.
Students first wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:13 PM:The district, along with other districts is top heavy-top heavy in staffing and top heavy in paying out!
They are cutting in the right areas, and hopefully this will not be an excuse on why teachers/counselors and students are not getting what they deserve and need!
one idea to raise money wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:43 PM:The folks sending millions of dollars back home to Mexico could give some of that money to the communities they live in and work. Seems like if the money was earned in the US that at least some of it should be invested in the school kids here.
Just a thought.
Karl wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:32 PM:Who cares? This is a non story. There is no way a bond will be approved by the voters until the illegal immigrant deal is addressed. I cannot believe that these trustees are dumb enough to try to float another bond. Hello.
JSten wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:04 PM:
What is a Dean? Never heard of one at the high school level. Probably not really needed.
Teacher wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:24 PM:I am waiting to see how this affects all the teachers, support staff and the kids. We are the ones who will lose by the district's idea of "wise spending" by having so many administrators - many of whom I feel are not necessary for the district to do their job. The job of the district is to teach kids...who does that? The teachers and support staff, yet we get the least of support while the big-wigs get all the money and glory! Hopefully they will get rid of some of the big-wigs and they can use the money to help the kids learn and the teachers to teach!
ModernRock wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:14 PM:Very good teacher...The big wigs need to go. They do nothing but receive a big fat paycheck and pension. There is so much tax money that if spent wisely, the state will have a surplus. These made-up positions should never have been approved in the first place.
Stephen wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:21 PM:The schools get too much of our tax dollars and waste it on baby sitting illegals. I say cut their funding more and have everybody home school their kids. Use the money they waste to build more roads and freeways.
Roberto1 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:33 PM:To the xenophobes...school bonds are used to fund facilities...not administation or personel.
What a concept wrote on Jan 19, 2008 3:42 PM:What a concept!!Cutting the budget beginning with the upper management! But they forgot one HUGE cut,,,Earl Shore,,what about his $160k plus salary for what,,putting "800" signs all over our school campuses. That is one job that is completely a waste of tax dollars.,I'll go take the signs down for FREE. We should give his salary do the ones that deserve a paycheck--The TEACHERS!!
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