Pomona Unified board votes to send out 321 layoff notices to certificated employees

POMONA - The school board has voted to send out preliminary layoff notices to 321 certificated employees.

Distribution of the notices will probably begin late next week, said Steve Horowitz, assistant superintendent of personnel services for the Pomona Unified School District.

Of the 321 employees due to receive notices, 293 are teachers.

Board members approved the proposal on a 4-1 vote this week, with Jason Rothman dissenting.

Superintendent Richard Martinez said that since 2003 the district has been making cuts worth millions of dollars.

This year, the district must cut $36million out of the 2010-2011 school year budget and make "reductions that will now impact teachers," Martinez said.

Although the list of layoffs contains 321 positions, that number could drop depending on a number of factors including labor negotiations, which are still taking place, and retirements, he said.

More than 120 certificated employees took early retirement.

As a result, "we may see as many as 100 positions" shaved off the list, Martinez said Thursday. "But definitely 70 will be reduced."

State regulations require school districts to notify certificated personnel by March 15 that they may not have a job after the conclusion of the school year.

Before the school board took up the layoff matter, Associated Pomona Teachers President Tyra Weis said she and her organization's membership are concerned about the district's interest in laying off teachers when there is no plan to reduce consultants and administrators.

Someone trying to reduce a household budget sets priorities and so must the school board, Weis said.

Before voting, board member Adrienne Konigar-Macklin proposed several amendments to the resolution that district administrators presented, beginning with calling for the removal of 39 child development teachers from the layoff notice list.

Under the original proposal, the 39 teachers would have had their assignments reduced from 12 months to 10 months.

Members of the Associated Pomona Teachers argued the district couldn't take such an action because such a reduction has to be bargained as part of labor negotiations.

Konigar-Macklin also succeeded in getting support for an amendment calling for postponing the consideration of consultants until May when final layoff decisions will be made.

Board member Roberta Perlman sought to add language to the amendment seeking an in-depth evaluation of consultants.

Martinez said changes in consulting agreements can't be made this school year but any future requests for consultants will be scrutinized by the board.

"There will be less consultant agreements," he said, adding that district staff will pick up those responsibilities.

Rothman sought to remove art and music teachers from the layoff notice list but his proposed amendment failed to gain support.

Perlman said she wanted to have art and music teachers removed from the list, prompting Konigar-Macklin to ask if those teachers, about a dozen, could be spared legally.

Howard Friedman, a lawyer for the district, said during administrative hearings, a part of the layoff process, the district would have to demonstrate these teachers have "very unique qualities" that other teachers with more seniority can't provide.

Konigar-Macklin said that like other board members she would like to keep art and music programs but didn't want the district to face a legal challenge either.

Her proposal called for district staff to seek funding for art and music before steps are taken to cut those teachers and their programs.

With the vote taken, personnel records will be reviewed and notices sent out, Horowitz said.

Last year, teachers found a number of errors in seniority lists and other related documents.

This year, there appears to be better records.

"We're more comfortable than last year. However, we still believe there's work to do," Morgan Brown, executive director of the Associated Pomona Teachers, said after the meeting.

Errors have still been found but the district and Associated Pomona Teachers continue working together, he said.

The labor group "has some reasons to be cautiously hopeful," he said.