School Board Agrees to Reverse Teacher Cuts

schools staff, parents and students are breathing a lot easier after learning last week that no schools will lose any teachers next year after all.

The school board on Wednesday agreed by consensus to restore the jobs of earlier this month as part of budget cuts, following news that revenue and enrollment are expected to increase over the next few years.

Next year, the school district will still be operating on a lean budget, but at least students won’t have to worry about losing their teachers or getting shuffled around to different schools—a concern many had after first hearing about the cuts.

“I just want to give you all a big thank you for the funding and because this does eliminate a lot of the fears at our schools,” Portola Elementary Principal Charlie Rohrback told the school board at the meeting.

Portola was one of the schools at risk of losing students to other schools in the district if its teaching position wasn’t restored, and parents and students showed up in full force outside of the district office on Wednesday to make sure they got their teacher back.

Now, district staff will be taking the next couple weeks to develop the budget for next school year, expected to be $18.9 million in revenue and $19.5 million in expenditures, said Superintendent Dr. David Hutt.

Hutt added that the district is expecting a 0.5 percent increase in revenue over the next three years, along with a 1 percent increase in enrollment, or an additional 25 to 30 students.

Despite the the district took this school year, the school district is expected to rebound following the revision of Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget, which projects additional revenue coming in this year and next year, according to a staff report.

Brown is still hoping for his tax extension proposal to pass, although it still lacks support in the state Legislature.