SBUSD Board of Trustees Reinstate 30 District Employees

The South Bay Union School District (SBUSD) Board of Trustees voted 5-0 Thursday evening to rescind pink slips previously given to 30 district employees. 

The decision came amidst ongoing state budget uncertainty out of Sacramento, and despite Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of a budget plan passed by the state legislature Wednesday.  

SBUSD Assistant Superintendent Scott Buxbaum said the reinstatements would be paid through unspent revenue received in 2010-11.

“Our ending balance is looking more positive and that’s coming from revenues we received recently that we weren’t expecting,” he said.  “We received $350,000 in federal funds that we hadn’t been anticipating and our charter school generated more than initially thought.  [The elimination of these positions] cut $730,000 from our budget and we feel we have an ending balance this year to cover next year.”

The Board’s recommendation includes the reinstatement of eight classroom teachers, one music teacher, four office assistants, one administrative secretary, one painter, one nurse, three assistant principals, one administrative intern and 10 library / media technicians, who will have their daily hours reduced from five to four. Whether the district will be able to maintain staffing levels beyond the 2011-12 school year, though, remains uncertain.

District employees whose jobs had been on the chopping block were united in a sigh of relief.

“I come here before you tonight with a smile on my face,” said California School Employees Association President Lynda Elliott.  “Thank you.”

School Board President Chris Brown said she was happy to see the reinstatements “even if it’s only for one year,” she said.

“We’ve always said if we can bring it back we’ll bring it back,” Brown said.  “I know a lot of you didn’t trust us on that but we did.”

Vice President Trustee David Lopez, however, said the Board could still do more.

“If we can afford three assistant principals we can give the library / media technicians back that hour he took,” Lopez said.  “We’ve talked about the order in which we’d bring [cut positions] back but I’d rather go with this and do something tonight.”

Buxbaum said the cost to reinstate that hour for the upcoming year would be approximately $64,000, but pointed out that custodians and food service workers also needed to be considered prior to making any decisions.

President Brown and Superintendent Parish agreed, noting that library and media technicians aren't the only employees who have had their hours cut.

“We do have an extra $64,000 to bring them back but others are suffering too,” Brown said.  “I do not feel comfortable with changing this at this time because I’d want to study [the impact to other positions] before making that decision.”

“We have made cuts and need to be sure of what is the most important thing we want to bring back,” Parish said.  “If you feel it’s important for us to study our priorities, we will make it happen.”

Despite the reinstatements, SBUSD and are still expected to lose teachers and staff next year.

SBUSD will approve its 2011-12 budget at a June 30 meeting.