Healdsburg school district to issue 'pink slips' for 3.86 FTEs

Healdsburg Unified School District board of directors on Wednesday met the March 15  legal deadline to identify possible teacher layoffs that could be made if budget cuts become necessary for the 2011-12 school year.

Board members voted unanimously to cut the equivalent of 3.86 full time jobs in six areas: elementary grades (1.46); math (0.8); physical education (0.2); English (0.4); art (0.6); and physical science (0.4).

"This is not the happiest of occasions," said Board President Ted Crowell. "But by comparison with other places, we're in a little bit better shape."

Crowell made reference to 28 teacher jobs set for layoffs in and 18 potential teacher layoffs in Petaluma's

HUSD Superintendent Jeff Harding said none of Healdsburg's so-called "pink slips" were attached to a specific teacher or even a specific school. Mostly, they are placeholders to be used if necessary--and only  if circumstances turn dire.

"It really depends," Harding said, referring to state budget factors.  "None of these could even happen -- we're actually hiring for one of these positions, and then we could have to turn around and tell that person that they're being laid off."

He said the amount of potential layoffs was based on declining enrollment. HUSD is expected to lose 37 students next year -- from 1,977 students at the start of the current 2010-11 school year to 1,940 in 2011-12.

Because of the way the state's public schools interact with the California budget process, school districts have to estimate their worst case scenario and identify potential teacher cuts by March 15.

If they fail to reserve the placeholder layoffs by the deadline, they are not allowed to lay off teachers later on. However, if the state budget issues are resolved and the placeholder layoffs are not needed, then the teachers are re-hired or the "pink slips" revoked by sometime in May.

California's budget is due for adoption by June 15 -- but last year that didn't happen until about Nov. 1.

"It doesn't make much sense," said HUSD Budget Services Director Steve Barekman. "It would be hard to run a business this way -- welcome to California."

Healdsburg, one of 100 so-called "basic aid" districts out of 1,000 school districts in the state, is less dependent on direct state money for education and more concerned with property taxes, Barekman said.

For that reason, he said, the district's worst case scenario is if Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to extend various taxes, such as DMV fees, fails.  Brown needs a 2/3 vote by the Legislature to approve a June ballot measure on the extensions -- and then voters in June need to approve it, he added.

If that doesn't happen, it would cost Healdsburg $350 per student, or about $700,000 for HUSD's nearly 2,000 students, Barekman said. In addition to the teacher layoffs, the district's "Plan B" budget also calls for larger classes and shortening the school year by five days, he added.

A "Plan A" status quo budget, with all the tax extensions in place and no state funding cuts, would mean smaller classes, no teacher layoffs and no shortening of the school year, Barekman said.

HUSD operates with about a $16 million annual budget and about 100 teachers for nearly 2,000 students, Harding said.

Barekman added the district receives between $5,000 and $6,000 per student as a combination of direct state money and property taxes.