50.0°,
Overcast Oceanside cuts back
Oceanside set to lay off 30 teachers in an effort to scale down 2011-12 budget
“We’re going to be needing to cut back,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown said at the most recent Oceanside Board of Education meeting, on Dec. 20.
The meeting addressed the school district’s 2011-12 budget, and the issue of teacher layoffs is now on the minds of many residents in the community, with the school board preparing to work with a limited spending plan.
“It consists of all skeletal work that’s currently being set up,” Louis Frontario, assistant superintendent, said of the budget. Frontario said that it is too early to determine exact figures for next year’s spending plan, but that selected pages from the budget will be presented to the public at a board meeting on Jan. 24. That will be followed by as many as five budget workshops continuing through April, if necessary.
Brown estimated at the December meeting that approximately 30 teachers in the Oceanside School District — more than an entire elementary school’s worth — would be laid off next year, along with 50 to 90 staff members. The cuts, he said, are not expected to target any particular grade level, but most will be from the high school, which has the most teachers. Brown estimated that there are 160 to 170 teachers currently working in the high school.
The need for such a significant reduction in the teaching staff can be linked to a decline in state and federal aid, Brown said, along with a spike in the cost of health insurance and a rise in the cost of contributions to the retirement system.
At a meeting on March 21, the board will present a teacher roster for 2011-12, which will include net gains and losses for teachers in each subject area.
A retirement incentive package is now being offered to teachers, available to anyone age 55 or older who has served in the district for at least 10 years. The final-year salary included in the package can be as high as $60,000, depending on a teacher’s sick days and total years of service. The package’s benefits include $3,500 a year for 10 years to help cover health insurance costs. The deadline to apply is Feb. 11, and the district needs a minimum of 15 teachers to take the offer. Brown said that next year’s layoffs could be reduced if enough teachers apply.
“The teachers are happy that we have offered the package …” Brown said. “The retirement incentive will significantly reduce the budget, but we still need to keep working at other ways to save money and preserve the quality of teaching we have in the district.”
