District Furloughs Could Add Week of Vacation

A tentative agreement that could cancel public school classes from May 24-27 and force teachers employed by the Las Virgenes Unified School District to take unpaid furlough days goes to a union vote on Friday. 

The agreement, reached earlier this week between the district and the Las Virgenes Educators Association, is intended to help offset cuts and layoffs necessary to keep the district afloat in the face of a $3.5-million shortfall in the next school year, according to a statement released by Donald Zimring, district superintendent.

"These dates were chosen after careful consideration of all alternatives and in recognition that many people had already made plans for graduation/culmination dates," Zimring wrote, "so any change to those dates would create significant problems."

Voting will begin at 3:45 p.m. Friday at a meeting at Agoura High School. For those teachers who can't make the meeting, voting will continue until  Thursday, said Diane Johnson, executive assistant in the superintendent's office.

The teachers meeting will be closed to the general public, but the association will issue a statement shortly after voting closes on April 29, Johnson said.

A majority of votes from the 625-member Educators Association, comprised of certified employees including teachers and counselors, is needed to approve the furlough days.

The Las Virgenes Educators Association did not return phone calls or e-mails by the time of publication.

Approval from the Las Virgenes Board of Education is also needed to push the agreement through.  That vote is expected in the coming weeks, Zimring said in the statement.

Jill Gaines, a member of the board of education, said she is concerned about mitigating the effects of the furlough. "We want to give our families as much notice as possible," Gaines said. "Child care is a big concern."