Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s Board of Trustees determined at its board meeting last week that of the 24.6 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions it eliminated in March for the 2013-2014 school year, 20.8 will be reinstated.
Five of those positions were saved by the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, which upped this year’s donation of $5 million with an additional $385,000, requesting the extra funds be earmarked to save teacher jobs, retain reading specialist jobs and keep both elementary classes and middle school humanities classes small.
MBUSD Superintendent Mike Matthews told Easy Reader News Monday that reinstated teachers have been notified. He explained that the initial layoff of 24.6 FTE was a worst case scenario necessitated by the state’s March 15 deadline for certificated layoffs and the district’s scheduled deficit reductions.
In March, MBUSD issued pink slips to 29 employees comprising 24.6 full-time positions as part of its efforts to reduce its deficit by nearly $2 million next year and procure a balanced budget by 2016-2017.
Those proposed eliminations spanned teaching positions across various subject areas in the district’s five elementary schools as well as Manhattan Beach Middle School and Mira Costa High School.
“We were on a clear timeline on certificated layoffs,” Matthews said. “If we don’t notify prior to March 15, we have no option to do otherwise … You have to give yourself the option in case there are no other options.”
After the layoff notices were issued, the board studied alternate cost-cutting measures.
According to the most recent board recommendations, books and supplies—including computer software, office and maintenance supplies—will incur a cut of $880,000 next year. Services, which include travels, conferences, repairs and independent contractors, will be reduced by $435,000.
Under these recommendations, certified reductions amount to $512,000. They include increasing third grade class sizes, reducing both middle school counselors and elementary reading teaching positions and eliminating the positions of high school athletic director, middle school TOSA and high school music instructor.
Circumstances could further be ameliorated by the district’s pending joint-use agreement with the city, which could procure an additional $500,000 in its budget. Matthews said if the City Council passes the resolution Tuesday night, he expects more layoffs to be reinstated.
All actions are anticipated to be final by the board’s June 18 meeting. The budget must be adopted by June 30.
