Pink Slips For Santa Ana Educators, SAUSD Says

SANTA ANA, CA — With school budget comes the inevitable pink slip dilemma for school boards, the official notification that an employee could be laid off.

On Wednesday, Santa Ana Unified School District reported that their board members voted to hand out pink slips next week to 287 educators, mostly teachers.

The 4 to 1 decision was reached on Tuesday night, a district spokeswoman told The Orange County Register.

Certificated employees will get the layoff notices on March 15, which would give them enough time to appeal via hearings.

Santa Ana Unified is facing declining enrollment, from a high of more than 54,600 students nine years ago to almost 50,000 Wednesday, district spokeswoman Deidra Powell told the Register.
Pink slips could be rescinded after Gov. Jerry Brown revised budget proposal comes out in May or if more employees retire or leave the district.

The jobs listed for possible elimination include 100 K-6 teachers, 50 middle school teachers, 47 in the high schools and another 21 K-12 teachers who provide special education services, and several assistant principals and program specialists, the Register reported. The list also includes 70 teachers who hold temporary positions.

Barbara Pearson, president of the Santa Ana Educators Association, told the Register that she believes Santa Ana Unified is the only district in Orange County facing potential layoffs. The district 57 schools employ approximately 2,600 certificated employees, which include teachers and counselors.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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