Many districts are awash in pink slips, but some manage to avoid them


(San Mateo County Times, San Mateo, Calif. Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mar. 29--Kennedy Middle School teacher David Rosenblatt is fed up.

In his 12 years of teaching, he has received three notices telling him he may be laid off.

The previous two times were with school districts in the South Bay. He's now considering a career change after having just gotten his third -- this one from the Redwood City School District.

"I feel resentment, anger and underappreciated," said Rosenblatt, 40. "Maybe teaching is not for me after three pink slips." Rosenblatt is among about 70 teachers in the Redwood City district who received preliminary layoff notices -- the largest number for the district in recent years.






California's budget cuts and the overall economic downturn forced many other districts to issue a large number of such notices by the state's March 15 deadline.

But some districts were able to avoid issuing pink slips. The South San Francisco Unified and Jefferson Elementary districts, for example, stand in complete contrast to the Redwood City district.

South San Francisco "issued no pink slips to teachers in mid-March, nor do we anticipate having to eliminate any current positions -- certificated or classified -- due to fiscal necessity," Superintendent Barbara Olds said in a recent budget update to the community.

Olds said measures that the district has taken over the past two years have helped this year.

Those measures included making about $1.8 million in "one-time and ongoing savings by not filling vacant positions, by reducing expenditures across all departments, by reducing select sections at the secondary level, and by reorganizing the Warehouse Department and the Nutritional Services Department," said Ronald Little, South San Francisco's associate superintendent of business services.

In Daly City, Jefferson leaders feel fortunate that they do not have to send out pink slips, although the ongoing financial crisis remains worrisome, they said.

"We had healthy reserves going into this year," said Jan Hopkins, Jefferson's assistant superintendent of human resources.

"The flexibility in using categorical funding that the Legislature permitted helped us organize our funding, so that we did not have to make too many changes to our programs yet. Of course, we are still concerned about the financial situation in the state and the uncertainty it continues to bring to school budgets." The state budget approved last month allows districts to move around some money normally earmarked for certain programs to address their particular needs.

Across California, more than 45,000 teachers have been told that they may not have a job with their current employer in a few months, according to statewide union groups. Districts have until May 15 to finalize teacher layoffs.

The 70 pink slips in Redwood City represent "the largest number we've had in several years, telling teachers they may not be back next year," Deputy Superintendent John Baker said.

Issuing the notices "is very difficult to do," Baker said. "You're dealing with people's livelihood here. This is devastating." Redwood City, which serves a large population of disadvantaged children, is bracing for potential cuts of $4 million to $6 million in the 2009-10 school year, according to Chief Business Officer Raul Parungao. Those cuts could lead to increased class sizes, fewer counselors and weakened support for various services.

"We're hit harder than other districts," said Bret Baird, president-elect of the Redwood City Teachers Association.

"Wealthier districts can cushion the blow better than we can." Rosenblatt believes he has a 50-50 chance of returning to Redwood City, he said. He'll have to compete with other pink-slipped teachers for available spots based on such criteria as seniority, credentials and subject area.

"Too many factors are in play," said Rosenblatt, who is finishing his second year with the district.

What's certain is that he'll be sending out resumes to other districts, he said.

He's also thinking about going into a different line of work.

But Rosenblatt will continue to teach his students the best he can for as long as he can, he said.

"You just have to battle through it and not let your students sense your frustration," he said.

Kennedy eighth-grader Diamond Martinez, 13, said she's saddened by Rosenblatt's tenuous job security.

"I think he should stay here," she said. "He's a fun teacher and works with kids. He comes around helping us and sometimes makes jokes. Sometimes he plays hip-hop music on the radio. It helps some kids concentrate a little bit." Staff writer Neil Gonzales covers education. He can be reached at 650-348-4338 or ngonzales@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Number of preliminary teacher layoff notices issued: --Statewide: More than 45,000 --Redwood City School District: 70 --Jefferson Union High School District: 30 --San Mateo Union High School District: 21 --Millbrae School District: 12 --Sequoia Union High School District: 6 --South San Francisco Unified School District: 0 To see more of the San Mateo County Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/.