GILROY
– Four certificated employees of Gilroy Unified School District,
including school nurses and a psychologist, are being laid off, and
more than 15 classified positions, from bus mechanics to
secretaries, will be eliminated or have their hours cut next year.
These and other personnel changes will sa
ve the district more than $2 million between now and 2006.
GILROY – Four certificated employees of Gilroy Unified School District, including school nurses and a psychologist, are being laid off, and more than 15 classified positions, from bus mechanics to secretaries, will be eliminated or have their hours cut next year. These and other personnel changes will save the district more than $2 million between now and 2006.
The district’s Budget Advisory Committee will present preliminary recommendations to the school board for saving $824,474 from next year’s budget Thursday. The committee has also identified $1.3 million in savings for the next year, to total $2.1 million by the end of 2006. Combined with budget changes already made this school year, the reductions will total $3.16 million and allow the district to squeak by the required reserve amounts.
Personnel layoffs or cutbacks make up a large portion of that savings. Two school nurses, one psychologist, a counselor and the After-School Program facilitator will be laid off to shave $623,000 from the budget over the next two years.
“This just comes down to the fact that 80 to 85 percent of our budget is spent on salaries,” said Steve Brinkman, assistant superintendent of administrative services. “We can only cut programs so much before we have to start impacting (personnel).”
District Nurse Eileen Obata opposed the layoffs, saying it will be a liability for the district. Two part-time nurses will be laid off, leaving three nurses to work hours equivalent to 2.8 full-time employees.
“With more and more fragile children coming into the school district, there’s more illness … there’s more diabetes, so there’s more students requiring nurses,” Obata said.
There also are more students with serious medical conditions that require a nurse’s care, she said.
“Nurses affect absenteeism and improve attendance,” she said. “We have an increasing number of students on medication, we have a much higher number of students with asthma requiring help to get to schools.”
She also spoke at a special board meeting March 9, when the layoffs were announced. The school district had to announce layoffs by March 15.
“Just because we gave layoff notices to six people doesn’t mean they will be eliminated,” Brinkman said, adding that laid-off employees may be re-hired if the district receives more funding. Five school psychologists and three counselors remain.
“We voted to issue the layoff notices because those notices had to go out before March 15, but what actually happens will be determined later on,” Trustee Tom Bundros said.
Along with the trustees’ vote last week came a promise to look for ways to keep the nurses.
“We discussed that, especially the nursing program, might actually be bringing in a fair amount of money – more money coming in, in fact, than is coming out,” Bundros said. “They’re going to be taking a hard look at that.”
Nurses bring in money by acquiring grants and applying for Medi-Cal reimbursements for certain care.
Classified employees as a group took the largest hit of school district personnel, as employees ranging from secretaries to warehouse staff to school bus drivers are facing reduced hours. GUSD will save more than $1 million by cutting hours and eliminating vacant positions.
Revisions in bus routes will cut driver hours and save about $315,000.
“Every bus driver now is on a different schedule,” Brinkman said. “Some are working six hours, some are seven hours, some are seven hours and 15 minutes, it’s down to the quarter hour.”
The district also will squeeze $379,000 from its management expenditures through several steps, including reducing one food service manager.
“We’re doing all kinds of improvements in the kitchens, all kinds of modifications,” Brinkman said. “And those in food service say we don’t really need three managers.”
GUSD will eliminate the practice of extra duty, extra pay for management that paid up to five additional days for extra time worked. The reduction equals a 2 percent pay cut for management, Brinkman said.
The school board will discuss the committee’s recommendations Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. and may make additional suggestions before adopting its second interim budget on March 25. The final 2004-05 budget will be adopted in mid-May.
“Between now and then, there will probably be further changes,” Brinkman said. “Not certificated layoffs … but there could be other changes.
“I don’t mean to imply that we’re going to make other cuts or whatever. We could; that’s not the intent. But this thing’s going to evolve (as) we get more information out of Sacramento – suppose we get more money?”
Following the district’s mid-year budget revision last December, $1.2 million in cuts were needed to remain in the black through the end of the next fiscal year. Following some budget changes, that number in February was reduced to $800,000, when the budget committee convened to identify cuts.
With instructions to hold nothing sacred, the committee considered seven major categories, including personnel, transportation and programs.
No teacher layoffs took place this year, although there are still other items under consideration.
The proposed changes leave the district with little wiggle room outside the required 3 percent general fund reserve. At the end of 2003-04, GUSD will have about $80,000 above its rainy-day funds, next year it will have $3,000 and in 2006 it will be up to $168,000.
“It wouldn’t take anything to speak of to lose that cushion,” Brinkman said. “We’re working on all kinds of things yet because between now and May, when we submit the budget, we could find that we need more money.”
Still under consideration are eliminating mileage stipends for management and busing out of attendance areas.
Several items still on the table would have to be negotiated with the Gilroy Teachers Association.
GTA President Michelle Nelson said she guessed suggestions to cap medical benefits at three levels or cancel an out-of-area medical allowance “would probably be shot down in flames.”
