Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/29842
slips hit When pink by Mike Myslinski History of the pink slip The threat of layoffs that California educators face every spring from March 15 to May 15 has its roots in laws created 80 years that were actually intended to protect teachers, not torment them. Those harrowing dates were meant to give teachers enough warning to plan ahead. Preliminary pink slips must be issued by March 15, and school boards must make final layoffs by May 15. Prior to 1930, school districts could fire teachers for virtually any reason — even for getting preg- nant. So the Legislature enacted protections. The Education Code and other state laws changed in 1929, when districts were restricted somewhat on RIFs (reductions in force). Ever since the Great Depression, a RIF could be made for only two reasons: because of declining student enrollment as measured by average daily attendance (ADA), or because a district wants or needs to eliminate a particular kind of service. California’s public schools expanded steadily from the 1940s to the 1970s. Generally good eco- nomic times, increasing student populations and greater property tax revenues meant that school districts had no reason to reduce staffing levels. That all changed with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 and its negative impact on school rev- enues, and with the various economic crises of the past three decades. The past three years alone, the state has lost more than 30,000 teachers as state education cuts soared. This year, California’s dire budget deficit led to more than 20,000 preliminary pink slips issued by the March 15 state deadline, and it’s feared that fewer pink slips will be rescinded this year due to the severity of the budget crisis. School districts must make final layoff decisions by May 15 without having all the data they need to plan. The orderly use of seniority for these layoffs, along with the placement of those laid off at the top of rehire lists, is spelled out in Education Code sec- tions 44955 and 44956. 22 California Educator | APRIL 2011 For thousands of California teachers this spring, life is on hold. More than 20,000 educators received preliminary pink slips by March 15. The state budget crisis may mean a significant percentage of those pink-slipped will lose the jobs they are so passionate about, says CTA President David A. Sanchez. “Unless the Legislature acts to extend taxes to keep the limited revenues we have, we fear more educators will not be back in the fall,” Sanchez says. “Time is running out.” CTA members who are education support professionals require only 45-day notice before they can lose their jobs. That bad news is likely to come by mid-May, says Do- reen McGuire-Grigg, chair of the ESP Issues Advisory Committee. “Unfortunately, we are at-will employees and can be let go at any time with just the 45-day notice,” she says. “We are not optimistic.” Behind the pink slip numbers are the worried voices of so many educators. Here are just a handful from around the state whose lives are on hold. Elk Grove Riverside Los Angeles San Diego Oakland 20,000+ preliminary pink slips issued by March 15