Schools

18 Teachers Remain Laid Off at Saline Area Schools

Saline Area Schools announced its staffing assignments Friday, leaving 18 teachers laid off and moving 31 teachers into new classrooms.

The number of laid-off teachers in the district has dropped to 18 after tentative staffing assignments were announced Friday. The announcement also means that 31 teachers will have new assignments for the 2011-12 school year.

The district issued layoff notices to 68 staff members in May. By the end of the month, those notices were rescinded for 28 teachers. Friday's announcement brought back 22 teachers.

“Eighteen staff members have not received tentative assignments for the next school year,” Superintendent Scot Graden said Monday.

Find out what's happening in Salinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There is the possibility that more teachers may be called back, Graden said. Resignations, retirements, schools of choice and move-ins could bring some teachers back.

Another possibility is the board using more of its fund balance to pay for teachers. As it stands, the district is planning to use $1 million from its rainy day fund, lowering the balance to $2.2 million. That would leave the fund balance below 5 percent of the annual budget, a level required by school board policy.

Find out what's happening in Salinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“That’s a discussion the board might be having,” Graden said. "When you talk about layoffs, you are talking about people’s lives. But ultimately, this about the quality of education we provide, class sizes and meeting the standards that people expect from Saline Area Schools."

The problem, Graden said, is that when you balance the budget using the fund balance, the deficit might be the same size next year, but the fund balance won’t.

Saline Education Association President Juan Lauchu emphasized that the staffing assignments are tentative.

“There are still a lot of factors that will be played out in the budget," he said. "Whether or not staff come back or enrollment goes up could cause a domino effect.

"You start calling people back based on seniority, and that causes the other positions to shift,” Lauchu said. “Hopefully, the district will grow, and the finances will allow us to minimize the impact on the schools.”

The board is set to review a preliminary budget at Tuesday’s meeting. The 2011-12 budget will be adopted at the June 28 meeting.

Last year, more than 100 teachers moved into new positions because of new staffing assignments and school closings.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here