District wrestles with shrinking budget
Officials cut employees, eliminate bus routes
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HAD ENOUGH- Tierra Linda Elementary School teachers Stephanie Taylor, left, and Laura Cornish protest outside Camarillo City Hall on Thursday evening before the Pleasant Valley School Board meeting. The teachers and the district have been at odds over pay and benefits since last year. The two sides have been meeting with a mediator since March to reach a compromise.

In an attempt to trim nearly $2 million from its budget, the Pleasant Valley School District plans to lay off several employees next month and eliminate some bus routes.

The school board last week approved laying off as many as nine employees and dropping up to three bus routes based on a list of expendable services and positions compiled by district administrators earlier this year.

Forty-five-day layoff notices are expected to go out this week to an office assistant, a maintenance worker, two warehouse workers and three to five employees in the transportation department.

"We're very aware there are people behind those numbers," trustee Patty Lerner said.

Trustee Suzanne Kitchens said she'd like to see services and jobs restored as soon as the district has the money to do so.

Based on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's January proposal and reaffirmed with his revised May plan, district officials told the school board $1.7 million needs to be trimmed from the 200809 budget. The recommendation came despite the fact that the governor's new proposal could mean $676,000 more for the district than proposed in the earlier plan.

To help achieve the $1.7 million in budget cuts, the district will reduce the hours of health technicians and some office workers, cut back on travel expenses and close its storage warehouse. In April a district official announced PVSD will not hold summer school in order to save $150,000.

The district plans to trim $400,000 from the transportation department alone.

Assistant Superintendent Linda Bekeny said earlier this week she hopes to present a reorganized bus route plan, either at the June 19 school board meeting or next month. The plan would consolidate some routes and eliminate two or three others that are least supported by students.

Reading a letter to the school board from his co-workers, bus driver Lawrence Washington said it seemed unfair for teachers to be asking for higher wages while the district is experiencing tough financial times that could cost other district employees their jobs.

"We trust your judgment in this matter." Washington said.

Debi Miller, president-elect of the teachers union, the Pleasant Valley Education Association, said members are aware and affected by the district's earlier move to give pink slip notices to 27 temporary teachers.

"Stop saying you're trying to keep cuts from affecting the classroom," Miller told the board. "Every cut you make affects the classroom, usually resulting in extra work for teachers."

"It's a realignment of priorities," board President Jennifer Miller said after the meeting, adding that the cuts are necessary so the district can afford to give teachers a pay raise. District officials have attributed $700,000 of the $1.7 million cut to the 2 percent raise they have offered teachers. Both sides have been meeting with a mediator since February to settle the dispute over pay and benefits.

"In order for us to give more, we'd have to do more cuts," Jennifer Miller added.