ESCONDIDO -- Teachers and other employees in the Poway Unified School District agreed to cut their own salaries by 2.7 percent this week, a move that their unions hope can save hundreds of jobs.

District teachers also agreed to work five fewer days for each of the next two school years, reducing their work year to 183 days.

In a move that could save 147 positions, teachers throughout the district voted 1,038 to 459 in favor of the pay cuts, which were accepted Monday night by the school board. The board also accepted similar salary reductions for members of the 200-member Poway Association of Managers Union and the 1,200-member California School Employees Association.

The Service Employees International Union, which represents about 400 custodians, bus drivers, groundskeepers and food service employees, have not voted on salary reductions.

Poway is the only North County school district to accept salary reductions as a way of saving jobs. In San Diego County, the Alpine Union School District also has accepted salary reductions.

Karen Wusthoff, a Poway Federation of Teachers director, said teachers supported the salary cutbacks as a way of saving jobs as the district struggles to balance its budget.

"When we put this package together, it looked like there would be 245 (full-time equivalent) teacher positions expected to be lost," Wusthoff said. "Under this agreement, there will be only 98."

The school board in March voted to send the layoff notices to help offset an anticipated $22.5 million deficit over the next 16 months.

Many California school districts in recent years have issued layoff notices to teachers in March because of uncertainty about state funding. Districts are required by law to send notices of potential layoffs by March 15, although the notices in recent years have been rescinded as budgets are revised before they are adopted in June.

With the state in a financial crisis, however, this year's layoffs are seen as more threatening. Wusthoff said the Poway Federation of Teachers, which has represented Poway teachers since 1975, has never discussed reducing salaries to stave off layoffs. The organization represents about 1,500 of the district's 1,700 teachers.

The union did leave itself an escape clause. Wusthoff said the two-year salary reduction will be reversed if the district's revenues reach $275 million.

The Poway district had an operating budget of about $261.3 million last year. In 2006-07, the district's budget was $265.2 million.

"We wanted to be able to hope for the best and plan for the worst," she said. "We're hoping that in the 2011-12 school year, we'll see an economic turnaround."

Dianne Kodadek, Poway chapter president for the California School Employees Association, said the union held an e-mail vote last week,when 75 percent of its voting members supported pay cuts. The tally showed 310 people in favor and 111 opposed to the pay cuts, she said.

The school board is scheduled to meet again May 11 to ratify the salary reductions.

Melinda Battenberg, spokesperson for the Services Employees International Union, said Poway members of the union are scheduled to discuss the proposed 2.7 percent salary reductions on Monday, but probably will not vote on the issue until a week later.

Battenberg said the union is playing catch-up because other unions learned about the district's offer to reduce salaries earlier.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.