School board ‘non-reelects’ Dunbar teacher

The five trustees of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District have been meeting a lot lately, both in open session, as they’ve been taking public comment on budget cuts, and in closed session, as they’ve tackled teacher lay-off notices.
Those notices had to be issued by March 15 under the labor agreement with the teachers’ union, in case some or all of those teachers are not needed next fall, when the new school year starts, whether for budget or enrollment reasons. By unanimous vote at their Tuesday evening regular monthly meeting, the trustees eliminated the equivalent of 22.2 full-time positions, ranging from 0.2 FTE (full-time equivalent) in high school German and 0.4 FTE in middle and high school music to 3.0 FTE in counseling, grades K-12, and 7.1 FTE in elementary and middle schools. The district employs about 250 teachers.
The trustees also accepted staff recommendations and did not reelect to hire two second-year probationary teachers, including one at Dunbar School around whom a number of people had rallied. Family and friends of Dawn McIntyre had spoken at length to the school board a week earlier, when the trustees met at the high school, and about 20 people were in attendance on Tuesday to hear the trustees’ decision. That decision did not come during the board’s closed session meeting beforehand, which was extended 45 minutes and delayed the start of the open meeting. The trustees went back into closed session about 9 p.m. and emerged again well after 11 p.m., announcing only that they had followed the staff recommendation. For the several people who waited until then, including McIntyre, her husband, several friends, and Melanie Blake, president of the teachers’ union, that news was not well received.
In other action, the board accepted with no discussion the “Second Interim” financial report, received a presentation by the Regional Occupation Program from the Sonoma County Office of Education, and recognized the district’s school bus drivers for their contributions to a positive educational experience for students.
The trustees anticipated further discussion of the budget, as they head toward the requirement to approve in June the budget for next year. Some members of the public expressed surprise that the board had not already had discussions about how and where the budget could be cut. A retreat for that purpose was suggested, but instead the trustees hope to consider budget priorities at their next regular meeting on April 21.