Murrieta schools start to feel belt-tightening
By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer
Official says layoffs ---- including teachers ---- a possibility | ∞
MURRIETA ---- In anticipation of less money flowing in from the state and fewer students streaming through its schools' doors, the Murrieta Valley Unified School District is considering layoffs and other ways to trim as much as $10 million from its budget next year.
District trustees and administrators met in a special session Thursday to discuss money issues as they brace for a $650,000 cut from this year's $153 million district spending plan and a $10 million-$12 million cut in the year starting July 1 as a result of anticipated state budget reductions.
"We are not making final conclusions right now; we're looking at our options," Superintendent Stan Scheer said. "We won't know what is going to happen (with the budget) in the legislative emergency session, but the district also needs to be prepared to draft its own budget. We need to prepare for a worst-case scenario."
The Temecula Valley Unified and Lake Elsinore Unified school districts have reached similar conclusions from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal on offsetting a $14.5 billion deficit. The governor's proposed budget would take away $4.4 billion from public schools statewide. To address the state's budget problems, Schwarzenegger has called for the Legislature to meet in emergency sessions in Sacramento.
Temecula district officials are expecting to cut at least $10 million from their $209.5 million budget. The Lake Elsinore district is poised to eliminate 20 positions and scale down another five positions to save $2.5 million in its budget.
Stacy Coleman, the Murrieta district's assistant superintendent for business services, said in his overview Thursday there are up to 33 teaching positions, four administrative positions and some support staff that could be considered for layoffs. The district must notify the school's staff by March 15 about employment changes, more than three months ahead of when district budgets for the next fiscal year go into effect July 1.
However, Coleman said the district will offer early retirement options to some employees, which could allow for the rehiring of some employees who might receive pink slips.
Last year, only seven of the roughly 900 teachers in the district retired, said Chuck Smith, president of the Murrieta Teachers Association.
There may also be an opportunity to shuffle positions, as the district is expecting 230 fewer students ---- mainly in middle schools ---- to be enrolled. There were 21,206 students enrolled in the Murrieta district at the start of this school year.
But almost anything and everything is being reviewed as a potential budget cut, and no reserve is sacred, said Coleman. He anticipated the weight will have to be shared on many fronts within the district such as counseling, transportation, special education, administration, staffing and programs to avoid crippling any one department.
"When you have to make up a $10 (million) to $12 million gap, you've got to look at all the options that give you heartburn," Coleman said.
The district has scheduled another budget workshop Feb. 7 at the district offices.
Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.
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Keep the wrote on Jan 25, 2008 7:15 AM:Administrators, lay off teachers!!!
No field trips wrote on Jan 25, 2008 11:26 AM:They should not spend any money on field trips. In this day and age, I don't want my kid on a bus and in the care of who knows parent or even the teacher outside of school. Also why can't I provide my own kid with a binder and pencils, who needs the teacher buying everyone matching binders?
typical mvsd wrote on Jan 25, 2008 4:37 PM:Just like MVSD to keep the administrators over the workers and the ones who make the real difference "TEACHERS" Lets apply for another bogus award and paint it on the front of the school for everone to believe. what good is an award when your competeing against the worst in the COUNTRY. constant over crowding, under funded everything, if these so called administrators had to compete in the real job market they would have been unemployed long ago. Teachers are not business professionals,they have no business running schools. Three vice principals/councelors at each high school, not once has my child ever been called into chambers to discuss future educational options. the only award you folks qualify for is the "waste award" keep our teachers whack the real pork
Mike wrote on Jan 25, 2008 5:05 PM:Maybe they should get rid of the car allowances for the superintetendent and the assis. sup's. Maybe the district could not buy lunch for themselves when they have special meetings.
paycut wrote on Jan 25, 2008 9:14 PM:If you are an involved parent in the district you will know that not all of the money spent on the fieldtrips are coming from the district. In the middle school it comes from the ASB. I think that being a successful school we need good teachers. I think that the staff at the district office starting from the administrators need to have some pay cut to accomodate the teachers and classifieds that the school sites needs. At this hard and trying times we need to cut back and cutting back comes from the top, those who make the big dollars.
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