School Board to Vote on Cutting PE Teaching Jobs in Elementary Schools

Elementary school teachers may have to give up one of their weekly planning periods next year to referee dodgeball instead. 

The Board of Education will vote tonight on eliminating one of two specialist-taught physical education periods in elementary school in order to help balance the budget.

Approving the proposal would mean two things: at least three PE teachers would be cut, according to school board president Morgan Mack-Rose; and classroom teachers would lose one of their five weekly preparation periods. 

The district is expected to save $339,000 if the proposal goes forward. 

At last week's school board meeting, trustees voted by a slim margin, 4-3, to target PE for the cut instead of art or music. Of the three educational enrichment areas, PE is the only one mandated by the state, Mack-Rose noted.

The California Education Code requires elementary schools to give students 200 minutes of physical education every 10 days, not including lunch or recess. A state appeals court ruled last year that parents can sue districts to force them to meet the requirement. 

Because PE mandatory, classroom teachers would have to fill in the gap left by laid-off physical education specialists, whereas teachers would have less incentive to maintain art or music if specialists in those areas were eliminated, Mack-Rose reasoned.  

Also at tonight's board meeting, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on next year's proposed contract between the district and the San Leandro Teachers Association, the main teachers' union. 

The board will also present and discuss plans for forming conceptual design teams to weigh in on plans for spending Measure M bond funds to upgrade the district's sports facilities. Starting Feb. 16, community members can apply to serve on two design teams: for and the  Swim Center. 

Applications are due March 4 and must be mailed in or dropped off at the district offices at 14735 Juniper St. Committee members will be announced March 8.

Tonight's school board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.