Pomona Unified Juggles Layoffs, Budget Solutions

The Pomona Unified School District entered another round of cuts at Wednesday night's meeting, issuing layoff notices for 201 of the district's non-teaching, or "classified," staff positions.

And those cuts may not be the end. A shorter school year, reduction of some school programs, and reduction of benefits are on the table, according to Superintendent Richard Martinez.

"If the governor and legislature are able to approve tax extensions in quick fashion," Martinez said, "we still face $26.5 million deficit in two years, so we're still not out of the woods no matter what happens."

While Martinez said the district does not expect support from the federal government for a large-scale reduction of layoff notices similar to what happened last year, the district did bear some good news from the federal level.

Martinez said that anticipated federal budget cuts that would affect the district's child services program will not happen.

"What that translates to is 14 certificated teachers in child development off [the layoff] list," Martinez said.

Before a March notification deadline, the district approved the layoff of 272 full-time teachers. With Wednesday's announcement, that number still stands at 258, which Tyra Weis, president of the Associated Pomona Teachers, said is currently taking a toll on teachers' abilities to focus.

"Sleep has been fleeting and concerns about family obligations have been strong," Weis said.

And, in some cases, Weis said this has proven distracting for teachers in the classroom.

For classified employees, who saw their day before a slate of layoffs on Wednesday, representatives also painted a grim picture.

"We are in a crisis and it is real," Richard Valenzuela, president of the Classified School Employees Association, said. "Education is about students and teachers but it's also about the support staff — the classified, hard-working individuals that come everyday to do what they need to do for students of this district."

Valenzuela responded to the district's call to keep cuts away from the classroom by saying that cuts to classified staff would have an impact on student learning experiences.

"We are the nuts and bolts of this district," Valenzuela said, "and we teach too, in a different way."

Valenzuela said there are times when students may not feel comfortable speaking with a teacher or counselor, but will speak to the district's custodians, maintenance, or other staff.

The board approved the classified layoffs unanimously with a vote of 5-0. Board President Adrienne Konigar Macklin departed after that vote for what district staff said was a "pressing engagement."

To address budget concerns, the district is currently pursuing a number of solutions to close the budget gap that Superintendent Martinez said he expects will amount to $28.5 million to be cut next year.

Diamond Bar resident Board Member Andrew Wong called on the public to get involved in the discussion of budget solutions going forward.

"We value classified staff and administrators," Wong said, "and, in that context, we have to make tough choices. I urge all of you to come together with all of us with new ideas. Rather than an antagonistic dialogue, I would like to have collaborative dialogue."

Wong called for the formation of a "Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee" that he said could provide an "incubator for all of the great ideas" from the public about how to reoncile the district's books.

In efforts to increase revenues to the district, the board unanimously approved (with Board President Adrienne Konigar Macklin absent) a motion to form a new educational foundation that would be formed to raise and manage charitable donations to benefit the school district.

The new foundation would be guided by five appointees to serve four-year terms subject to elimination at any time by a vote of the board.

The district's attorney, Kasey Haws, presented the educational foundation concept to the board Wednesday night and said that he would hope the foundation could bring in $2 million or more annually, once the foundation is up and running.

In another effort approved last night to attempt to bring money to the district, the board unanimously approved the formation of a committee to oversee the sale or lease of some of the district's surplus property, estimated at around 11.58 acres.

Haws said that the committe would be formed of seven to eleven members of various professional backgrounds and that all land-use decisions would be subject to the approval of the board.

Haws said the steps illustrated "dramatic" and "imaginative" steps by the board to solve the district's budget problems.