Pink slips go out to teachers by March 15

Next week will be a tense week for local teachers. So-called “Pink Friday,” March 13 is the last day that Sonoma Valley Unified School District can send out pink slips to certificated employees. That’s the date in the teachers’ union contract after which the district can’t release a teacher for the following school year.
Though getting a pink slip can seem decisive, some teachers who receive them might still be hired on next year, depending how things shape up financially in the next few months and in terms of enrollment over the summer. However, the district has to send notices now, to keep its options open.
The good news is that it appears the impact of the state budget on the local district won’t be as grave as originally thought. Just a month ago, officials were looking at a shorter school year, bigger classes and the gutting of various programs. The administration was especially concerned that the district might have to increase class sizes in grades K-3, resulting in as many as 20 lay-offs. Now that number might be zero.
“That’s very good news for us,” said Melanie Blake, president of the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association. She couched the positive, saying the future is still not certain. “The problems at the state level caused a lot of hardship for people – the rumors and the ultimate reductions that were made and that we’re still waiting on a May special election,” said Blake. “We could still be back to square one. Clearly there is a problem with the funding mechanism at the state level.”
Educators, parents and students around the state are planning to wear pink and show their support for schools through various events on March 13.
The district has offered extra incentives to teachers near retirement to leave at the end of this school year. This week about 30 teachers came to a meeting to hear more about the special incentives. The principal carrot is an annuity worth about 70 percent of the teacher’s annual income.
The teachers have until April 14 to decide whether to retire this year, then the district checks whether the details work out. If the packages don’t work out financially, the district can rescind the offering. The decision to retire is in the hands of the teacher.
“There’s no leveraging or arm twisting,” said Ashley Halliday, director of human resources for the district. “They’re great teachers. If this is a choice they’re ready to make, it softens the impact of reductions. Those people will be a loss for the district.”
A couple dozen “temporary” employees will likely receive pink slips within the next week, something of an annual ritual in many districts. Employees can have temporary status for various reasons. For instance, they might be filling in for a teacher on leave who hasn’t decided whether or not to come back. The impact on temporary employees has a varying effect, as not all are full-time.
Besides the budget, the district must take declining enrollment into account. Some of the state money is granted on a per pupil basis, so if enrollment goes down, so do revenues. The student population at Sonoma Valley High School dropped by about 100 students last year because the incoming freshman class was smaller than the senior class that graduated in the spring. Halliday anticipates the school population will drop by another 100 students in the coming year as well. Figuring out where to cut teachers is a complicated equation depending on which and how many teachers resign or retire. Blake anticipates that electives at the high school will be affected.
Enrollments are also down at the middle schools, which will result in cuts, while it appears elementary enrollment might go up slightly.
The district can much more easily dismiss temporary employees than tenured teachers or teachers on probation, which depends to a great extent on seniority. Last year, the district sent lay-off notices to about a half-dozen people in that category.
The district has until 45 days before the start of next school year to notify classified employees (not teachers) of lay-offs, but Halliday said the district prefers to do those lay-offs all at once and will probably give it a good look in April.
There are still two major factors that will affect next year’s budget – how much in tax revenues comes in this April and what voters decide on several ballot measures in the special election in May.