May 11, 2010
Dear Colleagues:
Yesterday we met for over 17 hours in negotiations with the teachers union in our third mediation session, and it seemed that we were close to arriving at an agreement. At 2:00 a.m., as the District team awaited a counter proposal from the UESF negotiating team, the mediator informed them that the UESF bargaining team would not be making a counter proposal and had ended the mediation session.
Regardless of last night’s disappointing outcome, we are committed to minimizing our layoffs and saving as many of our valuable employees as possible.
Tonight I am going to propose to the Board of Education that we take a risk and lower the number of layoffs even without an agreement, and without final budget numbers from the State, because we can’t afford to lose any more of our talented staff than absolutely necessary. On March 15, we noticed 701 certificated staff due to the State budget cuts. In March we had less information than we do now. We have more information about vacancies and staff attrition and about our enrollment numbers for next year. We have also completed central and site budgets and have made reductions in non-personnel costs. We remain in a strict hiring freeze with any necessary new hire specifically authorized by one of our two deputy superintendents. Tonight we are recommending that we rescind the budget-related certificated layoffs by half – which means issuing final notices to 350 certificated staff on May 15.
This number of certificated layoffs is still too high; however, we have a $113 million deficit projected over the next two years, which may increase depending on the State’s final budget. We have asked the teachers union to agree to a temporary package of cost savings proposals that would save more jobs and help keep all of our schools open and running. For example, an agreement to have four furlough days in each of the next two years would allow us to maintain K-3 class sizes and save 75 teachers’ jobs. Other agreements could save more jobs.
I remain hopeful that we will still reach an agreement with UESF in the near future and be able rescind even more layoffs as soon as possible. We are awaiting direction from the mediator who now has the option to call for a fourth mediation session — if he thinks it will be productive — or release the District and UESF to the fact-finding process where a three person panel will examine the unresolved issues and make recommendations for a settlement.
I wish to thank everyone who has worked diligently to reduce costs throughout the district. Thank you for staying focused on our children during this very difficult time.
Sincerely,
Carlos A. Garcia
