Schools may cut staff
May 13, 2009
By Laura Geggel
With shrinking budgets and employee contract renewal deadlines approaching, Snoqualmie Valley School District may be forced to cut teaching positions for the first time since the recession of the early 1980s.
Certified Snoqualmie Valley teachers received notice of their employment status May 13 — after the time of press for the SnoValley Star. According to the 2009-10 budget blueprint approved by the school board, the district has to cut 18.4 out of 246 full-time equivalency teachers. This number may decrease, as regular attrition from retirements and teachers leaving the district submit their resignations.
“Because of the number of attrition, I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Snoqualmie Education Association President Art Galloway said.
District administrators call these layoffs “reduction in force,” which teachers call “RIF”
Teachers with the least amount of seniority will be the first to be riffed. If one school has a larger number of riffed teachers, the district will reassign teachers to areas within the district where they are needed.
Two other groups of district employees — the Snoqualmie Secretaries Association and the Public School Employees of Snoqualmie — will likely learn about their employment status at a later date. According to the Public School Employees’ contract, if the layoff is known, the district has to notify them of a layoff before the expiration of the school year. Both unions require the district give them two-weeks notice for a layoff.
“It’s definitely tough times for everyone,” said Karen Seiser, a representative for the Public School Employees of Snoqualmie.
Other school districts are facing similar financial struggles. Issaquah School District gave layoff notices to 158 teachers, although that number will shrink after the district goes through its recall process. Lake Washington School District is not laying off any teachers. Instead, Lake Washington directed its cuts toward several administrators and programs and increased its numerous fees.
The high amount of teacher layoffs is due to state cuts in Initiative-728 funds. About 30 teachers are funded with I-728 money in Snoqualmie Valley schools. The school district tried to cushion the blow by cutting other programs in lieu of teacher salaries.
This is not the first time Snoqualmie Valley has riffed teachers. Galloway, who started working for the district in 1979, remembered getting riffed in the early 1980s. The district later hired him back through the recall process later that summer, but Galloway said he felt hurt when he received the layoff notice.
“I was really angry because I had worked so hard to improve myself in my first few years,” Galloway said.
Later, “I realized it wasn’t anything that the people here had control over. It was outside forces — state budget cuts,” Galloway said.
Like Galloway, some of the riffed employees may be hired back by the district based on program need and seniority. Riffed employees will be given hiring priority for a two-year period.
There are two wildcard factors that could result in employee recall. In one instance, the school district could receive more money from the state than it outlined in its budget blueprint. In the second instance, the district could use federal funds to allay cuts. However, it is unknown when and how much the federal money will be made available. Also, the federal funds will only be given over a two-year period, which could result in layoffs once they dry up.
At a recent Snoqualmie Valley School Board meeting, Galloway urged the board to use some of the district’s reserve Initiative-728 funds to decrease the amount of teacher layoffs. The school board opted to save the money instead, saying the reserve would serve the district well in case of an emergency.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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[...] Just for your information … you should read the following two links: Schools may cut staff : The SnoValley Star – News, Sports, Classifieds in Snoqualmie, WA Union: 6,000 teachers will lose jobs statewide | KOMO News – Seattle, Washington | Local & [...]