Schools

More Than 80 Classified Employees Set to Lose Jobs in School District

The PVPUSD Board of Education adopted a resolution to reduce hours and cut classified positions at Thursday night's meeting.

About 80 non-teacher, or classified, employees are headed for layoffs after the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education adopted a resolution Thursday to reduce hours and layoff classified positions, effective June 30.

These include non-teacher positions such as custodians, librarians, groundskeepers and special education assistants, among others. (See additional positions and the resolution in a PDF attached to this article's photo gallery.)

Additionally, a group of more than 20 positions including behavior interventionists, office managers and registrars, could see a reduction in hours.

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In light of shrinking budgets in the district, school officials described feeling "forced in a corner."

"We have no choice," Board President Dora de la Rosa said.

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To cope with budget restrictions, the district has to release individuals from their jobs, Vice President Barbara Lucky said. 

"We're very sad we have to go forward with this," she said.

School officials continue to hold out hope for state funding as they plan for worst-case scenarios. Board members have said the district's fate rests on the success of a proposed statewide tax-extension measure, which could appear on the June ballot.

Voter approval of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed five-year extension of specific taxes, set to expire this year, could help the district, school officials .

The proposed measure, which would continue increases in sales, income and vehicle taxes, is part of Brown's plan to clear a more than $25-billion deficit in the state.

If the measure is placed on the ballot and adopted by voters, the financial impact for PVPUSD is estimated at a reduction of $19 per student (average daily attendance) in Proposition 98 guaranteed state funding for 2011-12.

If the measure is not placed on the ballot or fails to pass, the impact on districts such as PVPUSD has been estimated to be a loss in state funding of an additional $330 per student (ADA) or more.

"It doesn't mean we can't rehire people," Superintendent of Schools Walker Williams has said about previous layoff announcements. "(But) maybe this worst-case scenario becomes our reality."

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