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NEWS
> SCHOOLS
San Benito H.S. job cuts announced
KRISTEN TOLLESON - STAFF REPORTER
ktolleson@freelancenews.com
Hollister
Employees in the Hollister School District, Aromas-San Juan School District and at San Benito High School will be laid off this week if their positions are among the local job cuts planned.
Mike Potmesil, director of human resources at San Benito High School, said 2.8 full-time equivalent teaching positions will be laid off this week, including two full-time teachers.
"We minimized as much as we could," he said. "Nobody wants to do this."
As of this past Tuesday, 11.4 positions have been cut, he said. Officials did not cut any programs, he added.
Potmesil said it's possible some positions could be reinstated, while some teachers were given a notice Thursday morning.
With the state budget crisis, many districts statewide could be feeling the impact of the deficit.
"Fifty-five percent of districts in California won't be able to make budget," Potmesil said.
The school expects a decline of about 100 students next school year. Potmesil said the district is overstaffed this year and would have eliminated five or six teaching positions either way.
Part of the difficulty, according to Potmesil, is that teachers have what is known as the "Cadillac version" of health insurance. If they would accept a less costly health insurance plan, it would save money.
"After all this happens, we will get back to business of educating the students," he said.
Attendance has gone up, which means more money for the school, but enrollment has decreased, he said.
Even though each district is going through the budget crisis, each case impacts schools differently.
The Hollister School District started out expecting to lay off nearly 70 positions. But after prioritizing programs, the number was lowered to 39. Hollister Districts Teachers' Union President Ronna Gilani said laying off 70 positions was the worst-case scenario. She noted how the district started at a relatively large number so it would leave room to drop.
Randal Phelps, president of the Hollister School District Board of Trustees, said officials hope the number of layoffs will be fewer than 39. If some people get different jobs or retire, it would affect the outcome.
"Nothing has been cut as of yet," Phelps said. "No person has been laid off."
Gilani said officials have to start planning layoffs three to six months in advance. Otherwise, it puts everyone in a bad spot, she said.
Hollister School District Superintendent Ron Crates said the major issue is that next year, class sizes will increase. Right now the average class size is 30 students, and it could rise to 34 or 35 students next year, he said.
The district will have to reduce hours for classified services, Crates said.
Jackie Munoz, superintendent at the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District, said officials will notify employees on their layoff list on or before Saturday, but they hope they won't have to cut all those people. The school district will be laying off 23 certified positions and two administrators.
"A lot can happen," she said.
Kristen Tolleson
Kristen Tolleson covers San Benito County and education for the Free Lance. Contact her at ktolleson@freelancenews.com or (831) 637-5566, ext. 335.
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