Resulting from the district’s fiscal situation and a decreasing number of enrolled students, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District pink slipped dozens of local educators in March, but both union and district leaders said the process was far from over at the time.
In the weeks since, tears have been shed as teachers, students and parents districtwide attempt to persuade SMMUSD leaders to spare their peers and mentors. And it appears it has worked — to some degree, according to Thursday’s agenda, which details the rescission of 13 preliminary layoff notices.
At a meeting in March, board member Oscar De La Torre asked if it was possible for the board to suspend layoffs, which was a subject that would dominate the public comment portion of the meeting.
Though public speakers were unable to attend the meeting as a result of California’s safer-at-home orders, more than 50 residents submitted comments online that were read by staff.
At the beginning of the public comment period, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association Sarah Braff said union members understand that the district needs to use the staffing formula when determining the cuts it will make in the future, “however, the need to RIF more than 50 teachers is unnecessary given the current crisis.”
“We know this is a difficult time for the district, and while we understand we must reduce our expenditures, we are not convinced that these reductions have been undertaken with an eye for helping students first,” Braff previously said when the topic of pink slips was first broached by the board. In fact, the union feels the district can save money using a multitude of other ways, which is partly why Braff shared with the board of education in March that the district could save as much as $6 million if it were to scale back professional development and consultant costs.
On Tuesday, Braff shared similar sentiments.
“Originally, there were 49 cuts (and) 19 have been rescinded, so there’s still 30 teachers without a position today,” Braff said, mentioning some hearings are still pending so it’s near-impossible to nail down who will be brought back next year and who will be let go.
“We obviously want to keep all teachers and cuts as far away from the classroom, especially considering what’s happening with Covid-19,” Braff said. “We believe there is a need for more contact with adults, not less.”
brennon@smdp.com
