SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — San Diego Unified School District is working to close a nearly $94 million budget gap for next school year.
On Tuesday night, the board approved the number of layoff notices that will go out to staff members. School board president Shana Hazan said that would be about 400 notices, but they hope the number of people who lose their jobs will be about half that.
"We know people are retiring, some people are moving, people are choosing to leave for a variety of reasons…and so even though there are about 400 positions that will need to be eliminated, those won't translate into real people who will lose their jobs,” Hazan said.
According to Tuesday's agenda, the jobs would range from special education staff to cafeteria workers, teachers, counselors and administrators.
Hazan said the main reason for the district's $94 million deficit for next year is the hundreds of millions in one-time COVID-19 relief funds that have run out. Another contributing factor is a decline in enrollment.
"Our goal throughout this process was to minimize impacts on schools and on children,” Hazan said.
Allison Paredes, a teacher and San Diego Education Association board member says the teachers' union still hopes the district will return to the drawing board and find other ways to reduce expenses.
Allison Paredes, Teacher, SDEA Board Member)
"We were hoping that they would find other ways to make the cuts that need to happen,” Paredes said. "It causes stress and frustration not just for the teachers that are getting the layoffs, but for their colleagues and then all the students and their families.”
The district says all layoff notices will go out by Mar. 15.
