The Natomas Unified School District board of trustees this morning voted unanimously to proceed with laying off dozens of teachers for an estimated savings of $2 million.
The Sac Bee erroneously reports the layoffs go into effect just “days” after the school year starts, forgetting there are three year-round campuses which already have classes in session and many students returned to school earlier this week. Today’s decision was made during an 8 a.m. closed session the results of which were disclosed several hours later via a statment by NUSD superintendent Steve Farrar. Farrar’s message outlines the layoff process previously reported by THE BUZZ and makes mention of the 12 unpaid furlough days being taken by classified employees to save $500,000 per year (for the next two years), that unrepresented/ management employees are taking eight furlough days and a freeze in step-and-column increases for a savings of $260,000 a year, and that a contract with Natomas teachers is still pending.
“With our modified traditional schools beginning class on Monday, we are now in the process of finalizing the teaching assignments for the coming year based on seniority and appropriate credentials. Teachers who are on the final layoff list will not be given a class to teach for the first week of school but will be assisting in other ways with classroom instructional duties until the layoffs take effect on Aug. 14.”
On Friday, August 7 New 10’s Live_Online at 11 a.m. will feature Steve Farrar, superintendent of the Natomas Unified School District. Click here to find out more.
Seems strange that the figures quoted show like a half a mil from classified and a quarter of a mil from admin, but they want the teachers to cough up 2 mil for the layoffs, and then even more than that to “balance” their budget. hmm
What happened to the rainy day fund the Supe bragged about on the news in March when all the other school districts were sending out pink slips?
Why is the Sup not fired yet?
Grand Jury Reports…
Rainy Day funds….
Broken promises…
Oh yeah and under performing schools?
We can’t blame teachers & principals who have no administrative support with the board or the super.
Speaking from a laid off teacher in NUSD…
What Farrar didn’t mention was that before teachers even officially got laid off, he allowed other teachers that were either transferring or reassigned take free reign of picking out whichever of the “laid off teacher’s” rooms they wanted. Therefore, all laid off teachers lost their rooms before it was even official. THEN about 17 layoffs were rescinded, putting those teachers as “subs” at sites all over the district…rather than being able to begin the year in their past classroom. It is a total mess, and an outrage.