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Job-cutting at schools considered in 2008-09
Additional trims may prevent campus closings, officials say
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The Conejo Valley Unified School District board tentatively decided Wednesday night to eliminate several positions and cut spending to help reduce an anticipated $4.5 million budget shortfall in the 2008-09 school year.
No final action was taken at Wednesday's budget study session, but the board could approve the cuts at its next regular meeting on Tuesday.
The board identified an additional $1.4 million in possible cuts for 2009-10, creating the possibility that it might not close Meadows and University schools as previously approved.
"The board's responsibility is to deliver quality education to all students in the district and programs that are rich and relevant in the 21st century," said Trustee Dolores Didio. "This has become more and more difficult and challenging, given the budget picture at the state level and declining enrollment at the local level. Unfortunately, the state budget problem is not going away."
According to revised numbers, the district can save $2.57 million next school year by transferring workers' compensation funds, eliminating deferred maintenance contributions and cutting 15 teaching positions.
The board Wednesday tentatively decided to eliminate $912,000 in special education funding that pays for several teaching positions in middle and high schools, paraprofessional positions, a coordinator job and an orientation-mobility assistant.
District officials expect a decline in the number of students needing special education services. The remaining staff would take over the duties of the cut positions, district officials said.
The board also tentatively decided to cut three custodial positions, which would save the district $168,000; and to eliminate already-vacant positions, including a full-time accounting technician and a media center clerk. The board decided to keep an elementary school counseling program.
For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the board tentatively decided to eliminate two additional custodial positions in elementary schools, a construction supervisor, an audiovisual technician, a sign-language interpreter, three groundskeepers and $150,000 in coach stipends for high school freshmen sports.
The board also considered increasing the teacher-student ratio in classrooms from the current 30-1 to 30.5-1 in grades 6-12, which could provide an additional $400,000 in savings.
District officials will meet with the United Association of Conejo Teachers union in the next few days to discuss that change, Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Baarstad said.
"I've had 38 kids in a class," said board President Dorothy Beaubien, a former teacher in the district.
"It wasn't ideal, but in this instance, it may be something we can do with the stipulation that when we had more money, we can go back (to smaller class sizes)."
If the board sticks with the $1.4 million in cuts for 2009-10, it could rescind its March vote to close Meadows and University schools by fall 2009. The board will reconsider that decision on June 17.
University Principal Jeff Rickert, who attended Wednesday's meeting, said while he hopes the district won't have to shutter schools, his staff will continue to move forward with the plans.
"There are mixed feelings right now," Rickert said Thursday. "Everyone wants their schools to stay open, but parents at the board meeting saw just how drastic an additional $1.4 million in cuts is going to be. There was a lot of blood on the floor left last night when we left the boardroom. The money is just not there."
Posted by mtnsofthemoon on May 30, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unfortunately "tenatively decided" is not the same as the board actually voting to make these cuts or voting to recind their decision to close schools. This is misleading to families...they may falsely beleive there is a chance for the schools to remain open and this is just not the truth. The schools will close in 2009/10 and nothing can change that EXCEPT for a board vote...which HAS NOT happened and most likely will not happen. The board may "appear" to be considering other options but to me these are empty promises. Unless the board votes to recind their decision...the decision to close the schools remains a FACT.
Posted by lookingforfairness on May 30, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The FACT is, I signed a petition along with a whole group of University Elementary families today that show our intent to put our children in M.A.T.E.S Charter being started by the Meadows community. I will not rule out this option.
FACT: We are leaving
FACT: CVUSD loses a ton of children & money
FACT: The school board should seriously consider the consequences of NOT rescinding the vote
FACT: We desperately need a new School Board
Posted by moreno on May 30, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
is bad how the economy fo the u.s is becuse this job cuting is going to affect the economy and there will be more unemployee
Posted by jsvitenko on May 30, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is always terrible to be cutting positions, but here are the facts:
- The board and district did an Excellent job at the study session looking at every item in the budget, discussing it with department heads, and all agreeing these were the cuts that could be "lived with" as hard as that is to lose people. Every very large business employer reviews their needs and staff to see where cuts should be made. Although it is really awful for 20-22 people to lose their jobs, this accounts for just 1% of the CVUSD work force,and cuts were nearly completely kept away from the classrooms. Most of the employee cuts are in classified positions and parents (more then 1,000 of us effected by the school closures) would be willing to help those employees. Ten employees will be cut in the regular budget cuts for 2008 that most likely will be approved. The other 10-15 additional employee cuts(less then 1% of total CVUSD employees) for 2009 would be to keep the schools open. Also, these may not be true employee cuts for 2009. I would suspect a few teachers and secretaries could leave for maternity leaves, may retire or move before 2009 so noone is truly fired. However once a school is closed, it's closed.
Other employess like Amgen and Countrywide let go hundreds of workers this year due to budget cuts, so I think for nearly 2,000 employees, 14 employees let go (if no one leaves or retires next year-which is highly doubtful) are a fair trade instead of closing two schools, impacting 600 children and 1,000 parents. Remember, some of these children have special needs, autism, are having families in crisis of divorce or illness-these kids don't deserve this.
-Last, interest in the charter school is high for both Meadows AND even University parents, so unfortuneatly with the # of students leaving if the schools close, these 15 employee cuts (mostly classified, district office staff,not teachers) would happen anyway as sad as that is--it is the truth. And the cost now needed for new portable classrooms for an updated list of campuses taking Meadows and University students has greatly increased over what was initially presented to the board and community. Where will that $200,000-$500,000 come from? The board would be making a wise and sound financial move to keep the schools open.
Even if the measure fails, thank you to the school board for their new efforts!
Posted by HavingMySay on May 31, 2008 at 6:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr Rickert is right, the money is just not there and all businesses must evaluate the best way for their business to survive. The school district is no different and if closing schools that ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO CAPACITY will help, that is what they should do. Yes, it is sad but if it is the right decision, then it just is and people need to teach their kids to be adaptable, as they will have to at many crossroads in life. We all know that it is the parents that have a problem with it. If parents want to find alternate education options then so be it... but I bet it is not as many as are saying they will go. That is just a panic response and I am sure that when those options are evaluated, most will stay. It will not affect the great education that they are offered. And if the kids leave then yes, they will loose that money but remember that will also mean less expenses. They will not need as many teachers, custodians, or facilities just like is the case now with declining enrollment so the savings in expenses may be the same as the money that they loose in ADA.
Even if the district has no financial problems, it is NOT cost effective to have a school open with minimal children attending. That is a fact.
Also, do not fool yourself to think that there will not be an affect when you cut these positions even if they are not directly in the classroom, it is all part of the service to our kids. There is no easy answer, all they can do is try to create the smallest impact that they can. They were going in the right direction and need to make the tough decision regardless of the fact that this is an election year and it will not make them very popular. You can not please all of the people, all of the time.
Posted by lookonthebrightside on June 1, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Rickert is right...no one wants to close schools. The CVUSD is reevaluating the best way to do business...and measuring their decision to close schools against the truth. When this whole mess started, I was not adverse to closing schools, but have been closely monitoring the unfolding events. IF was a good word to use, HavingMySay. "If it is the right decision..." Well, I believe it is not.
Each school, while not full to the brim, is closer to capacity than we are led to believe. The numbers are paper numbers that do not accurately reflect the reality of the situation. Perhaps, if all the time spent on formulating criteria for closure, only to throw it out and be subjective was spent really looking at where people live in relation to the existing school sites, and drawing natural boundaries, we would have a more accurate picture...
We all teach our kids to be adaptable, but this is not about adapting.
In truth, this whole crisis has been about community; a major reason we all live in Thousand Oaks. Studies show that smaller schools at the elementary grades are a prime factor in determining academic success.
We chose a neighborhood based on the quality and size of the school in the neighborhood. Other larger schools may have higher API scores, but that largely correlates to the socio-economic level of the parents. For the most part, the higher the % of "diversity", the lower the API...API is one snapshot of one day. It does not tell the whole story.
The governor did us a favor by offering the worst case scenario first. The CVUSD was forced to look for $8 million in cuts. Now, we need to cut a whole lot less. The horse was put back before the cart. Now we can move forward, with all 29 schools in tact, serving the unique communities they reflect.
Posted by jsvitenko on June 2, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
FYI: University is at 90% capacity with including the Neighborhood for Learning Center Preschool on site like at other schools. There is also a full resource room for students with special needs that wasn't even counted in these district capacity numbers. Also the parents just raised $100,000 on their own without any district contributions to get new, safe and interactive very large playground sets (one can hold 30 kids on it at one time.) You are misguided to think these schools are empty. I think that was the impression the district wanted to give. Other schools had lower capcity figures than University and Meadows. Across the board schools were dowon on average 5-20%. It is a little at each school, not just an empty school sitting there.
Posted by HavingMySay on June 2, 2008 at 2:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The facts are the facts and that is the butts in the seats. Preschool is not a required program for K-12, of course they were not counted. They have created these types of programs to fill the school that would otherwise sit unused. University is not at 90%, don't try to spin the data to plead your case. As for opinions, you are entitled to yours but remember that is based on emotion not facts. When you talk about community, we should do what is right for the entire community, not just your portion. I don't want to sacrifice a lesser education for my children so yours can have a warm fuzzy feeling at their 200 student school. Get a grip!
Posted by jsvitenko on June 2, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
University's capacity is on the district chart under school closures on the web site.I try very hard to just list data straight from the district. I'm on the school site council so I am very familiar with our school numbers-our school has 329 STUDENTS, NOT 200 (72 5th grades will graduate/move on next week--Each class has 36 kids- at full max-come see for yourself.) The preschools are at large schools and small schools, again see the district web site. Please have some class and respect when criticizing us. It is hard enough to go through this without other parents and schools attacking us. I have a special needs child and a child adopted from a Russian orphanage and change isn't very easy for my family. I can't speak for others and how they handle change, except that we are truly a family at University, and families are always hard to break up. And your right, if our school was at 60% capacity like a few others on the list, and we weren't one of only 3 elementary schools of the 20 to win both the Blue Ribbon Award and the Distinguished California School Award in recent years it would be easier to understand and accept. We are also the community members that gave our support and voted to approve the bonds that built many of the news schools, and we didn't turn our back on those neighborhoods. We have not said one unkind word about another school, not one, and we just would ask for respect in the words that are used about us--we are not liars. I hope your
child(ren) does well and your family never has to have your school closed. It has been really hard for the families that bought houses 3 and 4 houses down from school at the height of the market for $700,000+ and now the plan they had for their new family is out the window. Yes, we'll survive, but it is alright for us to say it is hard.
Thank you
Posted by lorigirl91360 on June 2, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Havingmysay, you need a grip, what's with the comments toward University families! Let's consider the board, the decisions, the corrections to decisions, and now the possibility of some budget cuts to save the schools. Have you had both of your children go to a school, then your 3rd child goes there and can't complete it, do you walk to school? That's just a bit of the reason I'm not pleased with the closure. I'm realistic, it'll take it's course, it'll work out. Comments regarding the issue are interesting to read, but comments toward people affected, and so accusatory are just ignorant. All the more reason we don't want to change schools, p.s. what school are your kids at?
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