Preliminary layoffs approved

Mike Swanson

The Laguna Beach school officials unanimously agreed to issue layoff

notices for every principal and more than 30% of the district’s

teachers in its meeting Tuesday with the support of a room full of

teachers, including some expecting pink slips in the morning.

The pervasive sentiment that evening was that the root of the

problem lies in Sacramento, not in Laguna Beach.

“We’re not faulting the board,” said Dawn Mirone, president of the

Laguna Beach Unified Faculty Assn. and a government/journalism

teacher at Laguna Beach High School. “This Legislature is absolutely

ridiculous.”

The pink slips, which Laguna Beach Unified School District Supt.

Theresa Daem and several board members stressed are preliminary

notices, include 38 teachers, four principals, two assistant

principals and the district nurse. Six temporary teachers received

their notice early this month.

“We have to tonight take action or we don’t have any latitude in

terms of staffing,” Daem said.

Those not given a layoff notice before March 15 are guaranteed a

job for the next school year. The rest might have to wait on Gov.

Gray Davis and other state politicians to see if they can stay in

Laguna. A wait that could last until August or September -- when

school starts.

“The process involves the Assembly and the Senate coming together

ultimately with a budget recommendation that they’ll approve,” Daem

said. “They’re supposed to approve it by July 1, but those of you

who’ve followed the process before know that it can linger into

August and even September, which would be devastating for us.”

Regardless of teachers and administrators’ desire to stay in

Laguna, they can’t wait that long for Davis to take the proposal off

the table. If the state budget proposal stays in place, then those

who didn’t leave Laguna would likely be jobless next school year.

If teachers do find other jobs and later receive notice that their

positions in Laguna Beach have been restored, then they could be sued

by their new schools for breach of contract, Mirone said.

“We love our schools, we love our kids, our parents, we love our

whole community,” she said. “But if we have to look elsewhere for

jobs, then ... good people will be picked up other places.”

Daem said she’s been talking with Steve Peace, California’s

director of finance, and other members of state legislature and

getting positive responses. They seem willing to work on cutting the

staff by “2% or 3% instead of the 30%,” which would require the

basic-aid proposal included in Davis’ budget to be removed, she said.

“What we’re suggesting we give up is the same $100 to $250 per

student that all of the other districts in the state are giving,”

Daem said, “not the $2,000 per student that we’re [giving]. We’re

willing to take our fair share of the cut.”

Davis, however, apparently isn’t sold.

“He wants something from lawmakers, the Assembly, the Senate,

saying, ‘If I take this out, then what’ll you give me,’” Asst. Supt.

Darrin Reed said.

On Monday, the Assembly approved $8.3 billion in cuts and fee

increases toward the state’s $34.6 billion total budget deficit.

Two-thirds of the cuts strike education, with $2.7 billion in cuts

this year and $2.7 billion more scheduled for the next fiscal year,

according to published reports.

The only department escaping cuts, and actually getting an

increase in Davis’ budget, is Corrections, including $220 million

toward a new death row facility at San Quentin prison.

Melanie Lewis, speaking on behalf of El Morro Elementary’s PTA,

suggested that the district, and Laguna Beach as a whole, step up its

protest beyond deluging Sacramento, especially Davis, with letters,

faxes and e-mails.

“We understand that these staff reductions are a defensive

action,” she said. “However, we would implore the board to explore

assertive actions, such as filing a preemptive lawsuit against the

state of California.”

Daem noted later in the meeting that this issue was in a

preliminary process of its own.

“We’re signed up to participate in that [legislative] process with

our basic-aid organization,” Daem said.

While the possibility of taking its protest to the courts exists,

Laguna’s aforementioned letters, faxes and e-mail campaign is

apparently working.

“This has been called an unprecedented grass-roots campaign,” Daem

said. “They know we’re here.”

Daem made an additional appeal to meet with anyone who knows any

“influential people who make large contributions to various

campaigns, particularly the governor’s.”

The general mood of the meetingbelied difficult to detect the

somber subject matter discussed. Laguna’s teachers and board appeared

quite satisfied with one another’s contributions to this budget

crisis, and now wait on Davis and the state to even the playing

field.

“Laguna always rises to the occasion,” PTA Council President

Kristen Thomas said. “It’s wonderful to see everybody working

together. Administrators, school board, teachers and parents all

working to fight the state. I understand we’re quite a role-model

district and [the state has] called and complained. We’re bugging

them up there, which we love to hear.”

The school board will hold a special public meeting from 5:30 to 7

p.m. March 25 to talk strategy with residents to prepare for a budget

unaltered by Davis.

“We have between now and May to be pretty innovative,” Board of

Education clerk El Hathaway said.

* MIKE SWANSON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. He covers education, public safety and City Hall. He can be

reached at 494-4321 or mike.swanson@latimes.com.