Sequoia District Employees Plead To Have Jobs Spared From Ax

District employees implored the Board of Trustees and administration Wednesday night to find alternatives to the funding and job cuts proposed to balance the district's budget.

As the district's May 4 deadline for budget passage looms, nearly $5 million in budget cuts are being bandied by the board and administration members. Under the current proposed cuts, the district's student counseling services would see the brunt of reductions through eliminations of one guidance counselor from each of the school's five comprehensive high schools, including Sequoia High School.

Other proposed budget reduction measures include:

• $1 million cut from the adult education program
• $600,000 saved by implementing two district-wide furlough days
• $900,000 by reducing or eliminating six administrative positions in the district office
• $200,000 in transportation and bussing services
• $500,000 worth of cuts in funding to the district's charter schools and
• $300,000 in other various savings through efficiencies.

Greg Gruszynski, a teacher at Woodside High School and representative of the district's teaching union, said the counselors should be saved from cuts.

Gruszynski, speaking of behalf of the Sequoia District Teachers Association, said the work of the school counselors help keep district campuses safe as they are often the first to intervene at the first warning sign of students suffering from mental heath problems.

"If we are looking at budget cuts, we need to look elsewhere," said Gruszynski, of the proposed reductions to counselors.

Theresa Torres, a guidance counselor at Carlmont High School, also advocated for the counseling services to be spared from the ax. She said that counseling services serve as an intermediary between the life of students at home and school. The services offered by counselors also smooth the transition for students, both when they get to high school and attempt to get into college.

Torres said that should the district approve cutting the counseling services, it would be the students who suffer.

Nadia Bledsoe, representing the district's classified employees, said she hoped that the board would strongly consider implementing furlough days rather than laying off school staff.

Bledsoe said classified employees have suffered cuts in the past when the district was attempting to balance its budget, which has caused  an increased workload for those still employed.

She called the district's expectations of classified workers productivity "insurmountable."

Fred Matthews, who also represented the classified employees, echoed Bledsoe's sentiments regarding furlough days rather than laying off workers.

"We are a bit voiceless and clueless. We wish we could be more a part of the process, and hope it's not too late," said Matthews. "We have families with needs. We hurt just like anybody when we get cut."

In all, 11 speakers stood in front of the board and spoke in favor of program services they wished to be spared.

Other teachers and students advocated saving the adult education program, which currently serves nearly 1,200 members in the community by offering job training, english language classes and other forms supplemental education.

The last board meeting on March 30 featured 10 people related to the adult education program asking for the program to be spared from the chopping block.

Board members were receptive to the concerns raised by the district employees and assured those in attendance that their pleas do not fall on deaf ears.

"The board is listening," said trustee Chris Thomsen. "It's very tough, and that may be as much as we can say right now."

He also thanked the employees for coming up with creative and flexible solutions for the budget crisis.

Trustee Don Gibson suggested the district pursue a parcel tax, which could potentially serve to supplement its budget deficit.

No action was taken at last night's meeting, but the board is expected to begin making budget balancing decisions at its next meeting May 4.

Much of the district's budget struggle is attributed to state lawmakers' unwillingness to pass on $12 billion worth of tax extensions to voters in a June election to close the state's budget gap.

Governor Jerry Brown attempted to pass the tax extensions in an effort to spare the ax from the state's K-12 public school fund, which comprises nearly 40 percent of the state's general budget.

Would you vote for a tax extension to avoid firing counselors and teachers