28 Teachers Issued Pink Slips Wednesday

Superintendent Barbara Vrankovich Wednesday issued 28 pink slips to teachers — part of an attempt to cut $4.9 million from next year’s proposed $47 million budget and prevent an impending takeover by the state. A staggering $4.1 million of total cuts needs to come from teachers’ benefits, said Wade Roach, the district’s financial officer.

The layoffs will impact a large portion of tenured faculty, without a doubt, Vranckovich said. She estimated about 90 percent of the 282 full-time Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District employees are tenured. They layoffs will likely cut teachers hired as far back as 2004.

Some teachers may be hired back on May 15.

Wednesday’s layoffs comes days after the school declared an impasse between the Rohnert Park-Cotati Educator’s Association and the school district over wages, benefits, class size and number of work days — leaving teachers and the Governing Board at odds.

“We understand the difficult choices you’re facing, the magnitude of reductions that you face, $5 million, 11 percent of your budget, is staggering,” said Denise Calvert, deputy superintendent for the Sonoma County Office of Education said to the Board. “Unfortunately salary and benefits right now is 90 percent of your budget.”

“We have acknowledged the fiscal crises, we have stepped forward at this critical time to offer back a contribution to the deficit, an amount of the portion that we represent of the district budget … a sum total of $1.8 million,” said Stacie McGwier, president of the Educator’s Association.

“We stand here tonight before you asking that you act to ensure the best possible environment for teaching, that you act to support teaching as a valid career, that you give the children of our community the access to education they deserve, that you offer parents the piece of mind that sending their child to the neighborhood school is the right choice,” McGwier added. “We ask that the superintendent return to negotiations.”

Vrankovich was matter-of-fact about what could be done.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” she said. “When 90 percent of the budget is personnel, we have to look there for reductions in order to stay solvent.”

The Board so far has from the school budget, including cuts to office supplies, mileage for District management, eliminating school librarians and counselors.

But the Board last night unanimously voted to keep middle school counselors and to librarians. The services, if eliminated, would have created $227,993 in savings, according to the District's Budget Stabilization Plan.

Trustee Karyn Pulley said she didn’t think axing crucial school services, such as school counselors, was a wise choice.

We need to be providing social and psychological services, because sometimes they are not available in home settings — so students rely on the school counseling services, Pulley said.

“Counselors are an extension of the classroom teacher,” said Board President Ed Gilardi. “Often working one-on-one with teachers to make sure the students have their assignments. It’s an important link.”

Trustee Marc Orloff, Leffler Brown and Andrew Longmire agreed.

The Board has also removed from the list of possible cuts school sports programs, and disbanding the Associated Student Body.

Editor's note: Contract negotiations and impending cuts will continue at the next special Board meeting, March 15, 7 p.m., at Lawrence E. Jones Middle School.