Las Virgenes school district hands out employee layoff notices

Approximately 20 teachers and staff members in the Las Virgenes Unified School District received layoff warnings March 15 in response to the impending state budget cuts.

March 15 was the deadline for employees to receive the warning notices, said Board President Cindy Iser. A final state budget has yet to be signed.

Las Virgenes schools stand to lose about $7 million if the governor makes good on his initial threat to cut $4.8 billion from school budgets next year.

Dan Stepenosky, assistant superintendent of personnel, said California law requires that school employees be notified about layoff possibilities by March 15 so that those in jeopardy will have time to look for another job.

At the March 11 board meeting, several categories of services and employees were listed for potential cuts. Twelve categories of jobs and services were pinpointed. Overall, the board approved the reduction of some 28 full-time employees for the 2008-09 school year.

Four full-time librarians are at risk, and nearly the same number of elementary school counselors may lose their jobs. Seven elementary school teachers were also listed.

Jeanette Ober, principal of Indian Hills High School in Calabasas, wasn't on the list, but the continuation high school principal's job was among the categories that were targeted. The school district wants to lease out the Indian Hills High School building for profit and students at the school might have to be relocated to another campus.

Other job categories in danger of disappearing include an elementary school physical education teacher, a high school social science teacher, an assistant director of special education and a director of education technology, among others.

Iser said that not all employees in the listed categories received notices. The Las Virgenes Educators Association, the bargaining group representing teachers, has a complex formula dictating seniority status. Union rules, for instance, would prohibit a school district from releasing a credentialed librarian if the librarian had more seniority than a teacher.

The board also passed a resolution to determine seniority status among certificated employees who share the same seniority date.

"We still don't know," Iser said of total job losses if state budget allotments to education do not dramatically improve. The notices were sent to endangered employees simply to meet the deadline, she said.