School Board Approves Layoffs, New Haven Adult School Closure

Adults hoping to earn a GED, learn English or enroll in career training courses will have to look outside of Union City.

Facing a $10 million deficit, the Board of Education voted Tuesday to issue a number of layoff notices, including 55.6 full-time equivalent positions from K-12 teaching staff and 27 positions from classified staff.

Those cuts are in addition to nine teachers and 31 temporary credentialed teachers at the . The cuts would cause the adult school to close next school year.

Full-time equivalent positions are not the same as the number of actual persons because work hours can be shifted and some cuts may impact part-time workers. See a more detailed breakdown of approved layoffs below.

"With 90 percent of the general fund budget tied up in salaries and benefits, the only things left to cut are people and programs that support students," said Assistant Superintendent Derek McNamara.

McNamara said the layoffs are “precautionary.” Some laid-off staff may be rehired if both a local parcel tax and a set of three state tax extensions are approved by voters in coming months. State regulations require California school districts to notify teachers and other certificated staff by March 15 if they may be laid off for the next academic year.

But even in the best-case scenario, the adult school would still lose 50 percent of its services and staff, officials said.

More than 150 community members responded to news of the possible school closure at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.

The school’s supporters displayed signs that read: “By learning English, we can create a better society,” “Learning English is survival skills in America. Please keep our classes open” and “Adult School is helping me with my children’s homework.”

Dozens spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of the school’s services.

Dave Tang, 52, said adult education is the first step for immigrants to become working citizens.

“If you cut adult education, you’ll have a bunch of illiterate immigrants,” Tang said after the meeting.

Tang said he took classes at the adult school more than 20 years ago and used that education to attend De Anza College. His wife is currently a student there.

“If I know English, then I can get my GED,” said an ESL student as she approached the podium. “Adult school is helping me become a [naturalized] citizen.”

Founded in 1980, the New Haven Adult School currently serves about 3,400 students, according to school director Nancy George.

The school provides various career and educational training programs, including GED preparation classes, ESL classes, family literacy and parenting education, job training, career skills and citizenship classes, among others.

“It’s a great program,” said district spokesperson Rick La Plante. “It’s an absolute shame, but the state hasn’t left us many choices.”

Officials discussed the possibility of increasing registration and class fees to keep the adult school afloat.

According to George, the school currently charges $40 for 10-week ESL, English, high school diploma and GED courses. Career classes have higher fees.

In order to keep the school intact, it would cost $350 per student for a class of 30 to 40 students, George said.

“For most of our students, they’re with us because they are unemployed or the job they have isn’t providing enough for them. They’re trying to improve their economical situation by improving their skills,” George said. “When we start increasing fees, we eliminate the students who need our services the most.”

If the school is forced to close, residents utilizing the school’s programs will have few places to turn to, George said.

“I’m not sure there is a place for them to go,” George said. “At this point, the adult schools in other cities are being cut back as well. Most of them already have long waiting lists. Community colleges don’t have the capacity to provide the services either.”

Middle school and high school libraries axed

Among the approved layoffs are three library media specialists at , and . The layoffs will mean closing library operations at those schools.

According to Noreen Franklin, media specialist at Cesar Chavez Middle School, that school’s library receives 54,000 visits a year.

While some layoffs may be rescinded if Measure B and the state extensions pass, the libraries would not be spared even in a best-case scenario.

“It’s like telling a mother to a pick a child – which one do you feed first?” said New Haven school board trustee Michelle Matthews. “It’s not that we feel that the services that are being provided are any less [important] than others.”

However, some argued that by tying extra-curricular programs to funds and excluding the adult school or libraries, the district is placing more emphasis on sports and other activities than on vital services.

Measure B, a proposed $180 per parcel tax nicknamed “Taking Care of Our Kids,” would generate $3 million a year for the next four years in order to preserve instructional time, maintain after-school activities and minimize class size increases.

The adult school would be spared full closure only if voters approve state tax increase extensions in a June special election that would bring in $4 million in additional state funds.

“The extra-curricular classes are beyond the education field,” said Queta Camacho, 71, a teacher at the adult school who has worked in the district for 42 years. “We should educate our children to get ready for college. If the parents want extra-curricular programs, then ask them to pay for it, but don’t attach it to a parcel tax.”

By the numbers

In December, the school board adopted its , which authorized $4.9 million in reductions.

The cuts called for an increase in class sizes to 30-to-1 in kindergarten through third grades and reduced the number of counseling and media specialists. They also shortened the work year and eliminated the remaining student transportation, except for special education.

Now facing an additional $5.2 million shortfall, the board was forced to plan for , which includes the elimination of adult education and a reduction in site administration at the high schools and middle schools.

The board approved the following layoffs Tuesday:

• 55.6 full-time equivalents among the K-12 teaching staff
• 27 full-time equivalents from the classified staff
• Nine teachers and 31 temporary employees at the adult school
• Temporary positions equal to 26.2 full-time equivalents among K-12 employees
• Five counselors, a psychologist and a classified management position
• Three library media specialists.

The district also cut four assistant/vice principal positions at the high schools and middle schools and notified 14 administrators about possible reassignment.