Capistrano District Plans To Lay Off 88 Classified Employees

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA —Protesters planned to gather at the Capistrano Unified School District Wednesday evening in an outcry for 88 classified employees expected to be laid off.

Over the weekend, the Capistrano Unified School District alerted their employees of changes coming to the district. The 2019/20 school year was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, sending all students home to complete the school year online.

Sacramento has required the district to reduce its budget by $35 million for the next school year, a district spokesperson says.

Capistrano Unified is planning to cover all bases for potential funding losses by examining where shortfalls may occur. One such place is in preschool care. Another is with mental and behavioral support for middle school and high school students, according to District Spokesman Ryan Burris.

High school student schedules remain up in the air, with a likelihood of split at-home/on-campus learning for higher grades, according to the district.

For the employees singled out in the proposed pink slips, any on-campus time is enough to justify their continued employment.

Those in danger of being laid off are those "that work with the social, emotional, and mental health needs" of the students, concerned resident Kathleen Fitzsimmons wrote to Patch.

"Now is the time we need to be supporting our students more in those specific areas," Fitzsimmons expressed in an email. A classified employee herself, Fitzsimmons cannot attend the protest in person, but she will be there in spirit, she tells Patch. "The district is sacrificing trained employees and trying to substitute them with less trained employees that can babysit. This is not what the children of our community need."

Superintendent of Schools Kirsten Vital's letter, below, described the board's position.

Vital's message exposed great concern for those who would not have jobs to come back to in the 2020/21 school year, leading to the plan of a peaceful protest, Wednesday.

Dear CUSD Families, The Board of Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District want to be as open and transparent as possible as we continue to navigate COVID-19 issues.
With that in mind, I want to share with you an update on our District’s budget as well as decisions we are facing today. Earlier this month I informed you that based on the Governor’s proposed budget, our school district would have to cut over $35 million from next year’s budget. We also anticipate that we will need to make additional reductions for at least the following two years.
By June 30 we will know more about our 2020-21 Budget, as we anticipate the Governor will approve the state budget by then. Later today, you will receive the agenda for next Wednesday’s Board of Trustees meeting. The agenda includes the first round of specific actions and reductions we are taking to ensure a balanced budget for our District. These actions include:

1. A reduction in the size of administrative staff, while ensuring our unwavering commitment to student success
2. A recommendation to lay off 88 employees, out of nearly 4,500 within our school district. These initial layoffs will fall exclusively on non-teaching employees

As I have mentioned previously, 88% of our budget goes directly to the dedicated employees who support the education of our young people. We are aware that every termination affects real people and their families.
However, state law requires school districts to maintain balanced budgets, making these very difficult decisions often necessary during challenging economic times. If the budget passed by our state government does not require District budget reductions, we will look toward rehiring these employees in positions to support our reopening plan.
Next Wednesday’s Board meeting will also include further discussion about our reopening plan, which you received a copy of last week. It remains our intention to open school as normal as possible on August 18; however, we must comply with the health and safety guidelines that may be in place in August, and adapt our plan accordingly. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Vital
Superintendent

Protesters were expected at 3 p.m., Patch was told.