SCHOOL BOARD WRAP-UP

No layoffs seen in coming school year

Laguna Beach Unified School District teachers and staff can rest easy “” there are no plans to consider layoffs, salary reductions or larger class sizes in the 2009-10 school year, Supt. Robert Fraisse told the Board of Education Feb. 10.

While most other school districts in the state are planning for massive cuts in light of California’s huge budget deficit, Laguna Beach is one of the few districts with a balanced budget “” and has a healthy reserve in its coffers, school officials reported.

“We are on target for our reserves to maintain our programs for a year if Draconian cuts emerge from the state,” Fraisse said.

In fact, the district expects to go on a hiring binge in the next two years, Fraisse said, to replace retiring teachers.

The district’s annual budget is $40 million, of which 80% is spent on employees.

The district has been giving longer-tenured teachers the option of an early retirement, which Fraisse said is “budget neutral” because the money spent to entice older teachers to give up their jobs is saved by hiring new teachers at lower salaries.

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Fraisse gave the comments during a presentation on the district’s goals through 2010, which included some interesting facts.

The district may be Laguna Beach’s largest employer, with 572 employees.

Included are 169 substitute teachers, which Fraisse said is a very high amount, especially for such a small district.

The average age of teachers is 45 and a half years, and their average tenure with the district is 14 and a half years.

The non-teaching staff is slightly older, with an average age of 46.7 years, but have spent only 7.6 years with the district.

Because of the desirability of working for the district, Laguna Beach can hire only fully certified teachers, Fraisse said. “Few districts can say that.”

In addition, Laguna has smaller class sizes than many districts in California, with an average of 21 students in elementary grades and 30 in higher grades, he said.

A class size reduction committee is meeting to consider programs that could extend smaller class sizes, which are expected to be reduced naturally due to declining enrollment.

El Morro study session set

A study session on proposed solutions to the shared roadway between El Morro Elementary School and Crystal Cove State Park is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the school’s multipurpose room, according to Norma Shelton, Assistant Supt. of Business Services.