School District Passes Out 18 Pink Slips

Teachers in the Hermosa Beach City School District will be receiving pink slips, 18 in fact, according to a report in the Beach Reporter.

For the last academic year, 2012-2013, the district was able to rescind the 10 layoff notices it'd sent out, notifying those teachers by June of their presumed good fortune.

For the upcoming academic year, however, the school board felt compelled to approve 18 layoff notices at its Feb. 13 meeting. Those employees were told of their fate before the March 15 deadline, required by the state, according to Superintendent Patricia Escalante.

Of the 18 teachers who were given notice, six were not laid off, said Escalante, who said their position would remain but with reduced hours.

School districts have a June budget deadline but are required to make staffing projections and send out layoff notices by March 15 for the next school year.

In many school districts, that often translates to layoff notices which are later rescinded when a budget is fully hashed out.

HBCSD offers instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade. Potential teacher layoffs could occur in physical education, science labs and academic counseling in the elementary school. Middle school cuts could include art, technology and computer skills, speech, drama, journalism and Spanish.

Core classes that are required to meet state requirements will be maintained, however the student-to-teacher ratio for grades K-5 will not meet HBCSD's class-size reduction goals.

Once HBCSD knows the status of teachers currently on leave or requesting leave, and receives fundraising commitments from the Hermosa Beach Education Foundation and the HBPTO, Escalante hopes to be able to rescind the pink slips.

HBCSD is also examining the district’s spending to see if there are ways to save on expenses and move those funds to cover teachers.

HBCSD expects to be able to tell pink-slipped teachers before the end of this school year if funds have come through to reinstate them.

In the 2012-13 budget, HBCSD included an $800,000 funding guarantee from HBEF, which enabled them to balance the budget and bring back the 10 teachers who'd received layoff notices.

Here's what's going on in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District: Pink Slips for MBUSD Teachers