School District Looking to Lay Off 16 Teachers, 1 Principal

The San Bruno Park School District Board will be discussing teacher layoffs at its , and the pink slips are expected to be slightly higher than the district previously planned for.

Because of declining school funding expected from the state next year, the district is looking to eliminate the equivalent of 17 positions next year—13 elementary school teachers, two Parkside Intermediate English teachers and one elementary school principal.

Previously, only having to layoff 15 teachers.

A decision today doesn't necessarily mean that anyone will be laid off. According to the district, it has to send out preliminary layoff notices to staff on or before March 15 so that the district has enough time to plan for next year.

"If action is not taken on or before that date and 'notice of intent' is not provided by that date, then there can be no further consideration of staffing allocation changes for the ensuing year," a staff report stated.

The district has until May 15 to make a final decision about which teachers will receive pink slips for next year—a decision that is usually based on seniority.

In other action, the school board is expected to discuss whether to pay more money to Total School Solutions, the firm hired to complete a boundary study for the district that has become a central point of contention for the ongoing discussions about possible school closures.

The district has already paid $17,800 to the firm to do a first draft of the report. At a meeting Tuesday for the committee tasked with making a recommendation about school closures, Superintendent David Hutt said it would cost up to another $15,500 for Total School Solutions to complete the rest of the study.

For more news about San Bruno, follow San Bruno Patch on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook. Got Patch in your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter.