Porterville Unified looking at possible staff cuts

Nearly 20 teachers may not have jobs next year in Porterville as the community’s largest school district wrestles with a tight budget and declining enrollment.

That’s because not enough people accepted the Porterville Unified School District administration’s invitation to retire early, something that could have helped change the budget outlook, district officials said.

The district had 26 people who accepted the early retirement with its incentives as of Friday’s deadline, district officials report.

Ken Gibbs, assistant superintendent for business services, said officials have taken the best measures they could under the present budgetary circumstances. The retirees won’t be replaced at this time, he said.

“Currently, we have modest flexibility in the state budget, and I’m not sure if the district can use it,” Gibbs said. “We have reduced positions at the high school level by consolidating 18 positions that we don’t have to refill, and we’re revisiting student loads.”

Superintendent John Snavely said 19 certificated staff members were informed last week that they may not be retuning.

“It’s horrible, it’s heartbreaking, crushing to have to give notices to such hardworking people,” Snavely said. “My heart goes out to these individuals, but it is our goal to bring back as many of these teachers as possible.”

If you have not yet been notified about the loss of a job, you won’t be, Snavely said.

Gibbs addressed the issue of the lack of what was supposed to be a state budget with more flexibility, as he looked for ways to cut expenses.

For class size reduction in kindergarten to third grade, the district receives additional funds for 20 or fewer students. More than 20, Gibbs said, causes a double penalty that was not the governor’s intent in his proposal.

“The proposed flexibility is out now, unless something changes,” Gibbs said. “The double penalty includes, one, the percentage reduction, and two, another interpretation added by legislators that for every student over the limit the district gets no funds.”

The percentage reduction, simply put, means, for example, if you have one student more than 20 in a classroom the district is penalized 5 percent; 22 students means a penalty of 10 percent, and so on up to 30 percent, Gibbs said.

Now, Gibbs said, for every student over the limit of 20, the district gets no funds, in addition to the 5-percent up to 30-percent penalty.

To add to budget woes, the district, Snavely said, has lost 169 students into the budget year.

“Predicting enrollment is always a guessing game,” Snavely said, “but enrollment is down. There doesn’t seem to be a particular pattern to it, but I know Burton [School District] has some of the high school students.

“That’s one more argument of the benefit of the [two] districts merging. If Burton gains at our expense, that is not good for the community. If we gain at Burton’s expense, that is not good for the community.”

Snavely said he received numerous e-mails from teachers willing to take pay cuts to help save the 19 jobs.

Whether that is a viable scenario remains to be seen.

“We expect this situation to continue for the next year or two,” Snavely said. “But we’re very fortunate that we have good reserves, and that the board has taken action to put us in as good a position as we could to prepare for a situation like this.”

-- Contact Anita Stackhouse-Hite at 784-5000, Ext. 1043, or astackouse-hite@portervillerecorder.com.