Hide Transcript Show Transcript

DOWN WHERE THE CUTS ARE BEING MADE. VICKI: T SACRAMENTO UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD MEETING WENT PAST MIDNIGHT, ULTIMATELY APPROVING LAYOFF FOR POSITIONS INCLUDING TEACHERS. >> A LOT OF TEACHERS ARE VERY WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER THEY WILL HAVE JOBS NEXT YEAR. THEY WORRY ABOUT WHETHER THEY WILL BE THERE FOR THEIR STUDENTS. IT IS VERY TRAUMATIC. VICKI: THE MOTION APPROVED FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS, BREAKING DOW TO 54 K-12 TEACHERS, FOUR ADULT EDUCATION POSITIONS, AND 24 VACANT POSITIONS THAT WILL NOT BE FILLED. SOME IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS. FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS ALSO INCLUDE HOURLY AND PART-TIME POSITIONS SUCH AS LIBRAR -- LIBRARY AND AND COUNSELING. ALSO, IT DOESN’T MEAN THE LAYOFFS WILL HAPPEN. THEY ANTICIPATE 33 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS WILL RESULT IN NOTICES AFTER RETIREMENT. NOT EASY BY ANY MEANS AND NOT SOMETHING ANYBODY TAKES PRIDE IN. VICK I’VE BEEN COVERING THIS SINCE SEPTEMBER OF 2018 WHEN THE SUPERINTENDENT REJECTED SACRAMENTO CITY’S BUDGET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BUT -- IN DISTRICT HISTORY. SINCE THEN, THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN TRYING TO CUT TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO AVOID BANKRUPTCY, FORMALLY KNOWN AS INSOLVENCY, WHICH COULD LEAD TO STATE TAKEOVER. >> WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS IN ORDER TO REMAIN SOLVENT. VICKI: DIFFICULT DECISIONS THAT ARE THE LATEST IN A YEAR AND A HALF FINANCIAL SAGA VIEWED EVEN WITH THE APPROVAL -- FINANCIAL SAGA.

Advertisement Sacramento school board votes to cut dozens of positions Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education has approved dozens of layoff notices. In a meeting that began Thursday evening but went past midnight, the board voted to approve 82 layoffs for full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, officials said Friday. There are 54 K-12 teachers and four adult education teacher positions that are being cut. Twenty-four of the remaining cut positions were already vacant.“It means that a lot of teachers are very worried about whether they will have jobs next year,” said Nikki Milevsky with the Sacramento City Teachers Association. “They worry whether they will be there for their students. It’s very traumatic.”"Full Time Equivalent" also includes hourly and part-time positions -- such as foreign language, librarian and counseling hours. Although the district was approved for 82 FTE layoffs, that doesn’t mean it will actually happen. The district explained with resignations and retirement, they anticipate roughly 33 FTE will result in notices. The layoffs come as the district works to fight bankruptcy. A state audit released in December said the district is projected to face a $19.1 million shortfall in the 2021 fiscal year, and found it failed to control costs when it came to salaries, employee benefits and special education. “We are in a situation where we have to make very difficult decisions,” SCUSD Superintendent Jorge Aguilar said. “Not an easy night by any means. It’s not something that anybody takes any pride in. I understand, having grown up with parents who worked in different farms seasonally, the challenges that come with not knowing what the future might hold.”The budget saga began in September 2018 when the county superintendent rejected SCUSD’s budget for the first time in district history. Since then, the district has been trying to cut tens of millions of dollars to avoid bankruptcy -- formally known as insolvency -- which would lead to state takeover. Final layoff notices will be issued before May 15, officials said.Roughly 100 employees were laid off last year.