Anyone with a pulse knows that the California jobs picture looks
grim: 1.7 million Californians out of work, a 9.3 percent
unemployment rate (which may soon climb to double digits), daily
announcements of layoffs. Prospects are tough for individuals
unfortunate enough to be looking for jobs.
Anyone with a pulse knows that the California jobs picture looks grim: 1.7 million Californians out of work, a 9.3 percent unemployment rate (which may soon climb to double digits), daily announcements of layoffs. Prospects are tough for individuals unfortunate enough to be looking for jobs.
That makes the annual ritual of school districts sending out March 15 teacher-layoff notices all the more significant. In the past, districts would send out such notices assuming that few individuals actually would be laid off when final budgets were set.
Even with California expected to get about $6 billion from the federal government through a “state stabilization fund” that would help the state avoid layoffs and cuts in services, local school districts still will see deep cuts. In the current jobs climate, many area districts are looking at options other than sending out March 15 layoff notices.
In the Davis Joint Unified district, for example, administrators and teachers are looking at the possibility of a voluntary salary reduction. The district estimates that if all employees took a 4 percent cut in pay, the district would not have to send out layoff notices to a single employee and the district would not have to increase class sizes. Top administrators are offering to take a 5 percent cut in pay.
Sacramento City Unified estimates that it will have to cut $15 million out of the 2009-10 budget. If all employees took a 5 percent cut in pay, that would add up to $10.5 million. If employees further agreed to freeze increases on the salary schedule linked to years of service and additional education, that would add up to another $3.65 million. Such cuts would prevent nearly all layoffs.
This editorial first appeared in the Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.
