Facing enrollment decline, SAISD begins teacher layoffs

SAISD Board President Patti Radle and Superintendent Pedro Martinez listen during a board meeting this year. Expected declines in enrollment will force elimination of teacher and staff positions next year. District officials were advising 60 teachers this week to resign or have their contracts terminated when the board meets Monday. less SAISD Board President Patti Radle and Superintendent Pedro Martinez listen during a board meeting this year. Expected declines in enrollment will force elimination of teacher and staff positions next year. ... more Photo: Robin Jerstad / Photo: Robin Jerstad / Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Facing enrollment decline, SAISD begins teacher layoffs 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

The San Antonio Independent School District is eliminating about 60 teaching positions — with additional cuts likely — in response to declining enrollment and an accompanying $31 million shortfall.

Administrators began meeting Tuesday with teachers who have been recommended for termination, giving them the opportunity to resign effective at the end of the school year, said Leslie Price, the district’s spokeswoman.

SAISD is also looking to reduce the number of school and central office administrators, but decisions about those groups, and the ultimate number of lost teaching positions, have not been finalized, Price said.

The final tally of layoffs will be affected by teaching positions left vacant through voluntary attrition, Price said. More details will be provided when the board of trustees meets Monday, she said in a prepared statement.

“This is a difficult and complex process we hoped to avoid through attrition - and we continue to monitor that daily,” Price said.

The San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, the union representing non-administrative employees, had asked the board to keep the cuts away from the classroom.

“It’s been a very, very difficult two days,” said Shelley Potter, the union’s president. “We’ve had a constant stream of teachers through our office.”

Declining enrollment means less need for teachers and fewer state dollars. Several area school districts, including Judson and North East ISDs, are bracing for similar reductions. North East ISD officials told their board in late March that the district expects to lose more than 100 teachers through attrition as part of an estimated $12 million in reduced spending next year.

Trustees at South San Antonio and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISDs are mulling whether to ask voters to approve tax ratification elections this year to raise property tax rates.

The SAISD layoffs are being undertaken as a “reduction in force” but must be based on performance appraisals under state law and district policy, Price said.

The names of those advised to resign this week who do not do so will be given to the board Monday for a vote to terminate their contracts, Price said.

The district also will use performance reviews to decide not to renew the contracts of an unknown number of probationary teachers, who are new to the district, Price said.

San Antonio Alliance leaders have met with more than 45 teachers over the past two days who were slated for termination, Potter said. Those on continuing contracts have the right to appeal and request a hearing before an independent examiner, she said. Teachers on probationary contracts can file a grievance, a less powerful form of appeal, Potter said.

Many of the teachers recommended for termination thus far have between five and 20 years of experience, Potter said. At least one has more than 20 years, she said. The union had asked for cuts to be made based on two to three years of evaluations, but Potter said only this year’s performance appraisals were taken into account.

“We’re seeing decades of experience shoved out the door,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of anger and a lot of frustration. People who feel like they haven’t been treated fairly.”

SAISD employs more than 3,000 teachers and enrolls almost 51,000 students, according to state records. The district saw its largest-ever enrollment drop this year and predicts it will dip below 50,000 students next year. The decline is causing decreases in state funding, allocated based on average daily attendance.

The layoffs are part of a plan to align staffing levels with student enrollment, which has declined at a majority of SAISD campuses. Administrators and trustees have said the cuts will not touch enhanced academic and extracurricular programs, many funded two years ago through a voter-approved property tax rate increase. For example, the district will not halt its expansion of International Baccalaureate and dual language programs, Price said.

Price said SAISD’s research department is still working to determine where students went who left the district this year, but data from the Texas Education Agency show more than 3,000 additional children who live in the district attend charter schools compared to last year. The district’s enrollment has declined by about 1,800 overall compared to last school year.

“While still a substantial loss, it could have been worse,” Price said. “Our increased options for families have helped to offset some of this.”

Alia Malik is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | amalik@express-news.net | @AliaAtSAEN