Amador County – On the front lawn of the Amador Unified School District in downtown Jackson sits a row of sixty-six empty chairs. The chairs were set out as part of a demonstration called “Stand Up for Schools and California’s Future” designed to highlight the impact of layoffs that will be made as a result of state reductions in school funding. “Our district has been reduced $14 million in revenue over a three year period (last year, this year, next year),” said Superintendent Dick Glock. “There is no good outcome to actions we must take. It’s about financial survival, not about what’s good for kids and students.” Glock and school board members expressed their helplessness at the Amador County Unified School District board meeting last week, where they unanimously approved to authorize notices of dismissal to be sent to 56 district and 10 special education employees. A final decision must be made before a state-imposed deadline of March 15th. “There are no good outcomes to this unless we are able to rescind these layoffs at a later date,” said Glock. The school district says that while the number of layoffs expected locally is small compared to bigger districts, the percentage of teachers facing unemployment is huge. 26 percent of ACUSD and Amador Office of Education teachers are expected to receive pink slips. On March 4, local teachers and concerned citizens participated in the “Stand Up for Schools and California’s Future” day of action by placing the chairs in front of various schools across the county. A simple row of folding chairs on the ACUSD front lawn now serve as a reminder to passing motorists of the potential impact of these cuts. In addition to layoffs, Glock said the district’s deficit forces them to increase class size, an action that until recently they found creative ways of avoiding. We’ve tried to stave off direct cuts to the (classroom)…and now there is no other place to go other than raising class size,” said Glock. Class sizes will be raised closer to 30 students and many electives that don’t see much participation will be shut down. Glock said if they laid off everyone on the list they “still would be a million dollars short” of breaking even. He said at that point the district would likely look into reducing the length of the school year or discussing wage and benefit reductions with special bargaining units. Amador County Teacher's Association President Mike Delaney said his group understands that the budget cuts are out of local control and the responsibility lies with state lawmakers. The district is encouraging the public to contact their elected officials “who make the decisions that threaten schools.” These include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dave Cox and Assemblymember Alyson Huber. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
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Amador County – On the front lawn of the Amador Unified School District in downtown Jackson sits a row of sixty-six empty chairs. The chairs were set out as part of a demonstration called “Stand Up for Schools and California’s Future” designed to highlight the impact of layoffs that will be made as a result of state reductions in school funding. “Our district has been reduced $14 million in revenue over a three year period (last year, this year, next year),” said Superintendent Dick Glock. “There is no good outcome to actions we must take. It’s about financial survival, not about what’s good for kids and students.” Glock and school board members expressed their helplessness at the Amador County Unified School District board meeting last week, where they unanimously approved to authorize notices of dismissal to be sent to 56 district and 10 special education employees. A final decision must be made before a state-imposed deadline of March 15th. “There are no good outcomes to this unless we are able to rescind these layoffs at a later date,” said Glock. The school district says that while the number of layoffs expected locally is small compared to bigger districts, the percentage of teachers facing unemployment is huge. 26 percent of ACUSD and Amador Office of Education teachers are expected to receive pink slips. On March 4, local teachers and concerned citizens participated in the “Stand Up for Schools and California’s Future” day of action by placing the chairs in front of various schools across the county. A simple row of folding chairs on the ACUSD front lawn now serve as a reminder to passing motorists of the potential impact of these cuts. In addition to layoffs, Glock said the district’s deficit forces them to increase class size, an action that until recently they found creative ways of avoiding. We’ve tried to stave off direct cuts to the (classroom)…and now there is no other place to go other than raising class size,” said Glock. Class sizes will be raised closer to 30 students and many electives that don’t see much participation will be shut down. Glock said if they laid off everyone on the list they “still would be a million dollars short” of breaking even. He said at that point the district would likely look into reducing the length of the school year or discussing wage and benefit reductions with special bargaining units. Amador County Teacher's Association President Mike Delaney said his group understands that the budget cuts are out of local control and the responsibility lies with state lawmakers. The district is encouraging the public to contact their elected officials “who make the decisions that threaten schools.” These include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dave Cox and Assemblymember Alyson Huber. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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