Windsor School District votes to cut 40 teachers

Windsor School District voted to cut more than 40 full-time teaching positions Tuesday night after an emotional public outpouring calling for the five-member board to save threatened programs including music.

Board members expressed hope that some of the positions can be reinstated in the coming weeks, but said their hands were tied by a new set of strict spending rules put in place in March after the district was declared in negative financial status because of chronic deficit spending of more than $2 million a year.

Outside of Windsor, of the slightly more than 23 positions throughout Sonoma County threatened to be cut back in March, nearly 17 were officially cut.

Michelle Plumbtree, the fiscal adviser given veto power over all district spending, said officials want to support the educational programs of students "but that doesn't mean we can give them everything they are used to having or that we want them to have. You can't afford to do all of it the way you want."

But scores of parents and students said that with Tuesday night's vote, the district is essentially dismantling its entire music program, telling both of Windsor High School's primary music instructors that their jobs are gone.

The district can hire back teachers given official notices today, but parents said some teachers will look elsewhere in the meantime.

"We have already had teachers picked up," Superintendent Tammy Gabel said. "Basically our loss is another district's gain."

Gabel vowed that music will be in place next year, but that it will look different.

"There will be music. We know there will be music. The question is, 'What does it look like?'

" she said. The school board also voted on Tuesday to increase class sizes to 24 students in kindergarten through third grades, 32students in grades four through eight and push student loads for most high school teachers to 180students. The class size increases account for 17 positions cut.Teachers agreed to an increase in what they pay for health benefits. The changes cut $1.5 million in spending from next year's budget.Plumbtree said the district must target $5 million in cuts over three years to remain solvent."We are in a serious mess. These cuts go beyond music," trustee George Valenzuela said.The vote came on the eve of the state deadline to finalize preliminary layoff notices issued in March.School districts had until today to rescind layoff warnings issued in March. The layoffs made official by today's legal deadline do not include temporary teachers who are notified every year that their spots in the classroom are not guaranteed.Those affected by today's layoff notices are probationary or tenured teachers.Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget was released Tuesday but education officials said it is still too early to know how the new document will affect education funding."The problem didn't arrive overnight and it's not going to go away overnight," Denise Calvert, deputy superintendent of business services for the Sonoma County Office of Education said of Windsor's financial woes. "This type of community response is typical, when you are talking about programs that they really like."=============================================================CLARIFICATION: Added June 13, 2013The Windsor School Board on Tuesday voted to accept an agreement with the Windsor District Educators Association that effectively eliminates 17 full-time teaching positions. Twenty-three other full-time teaching positions were eliminated when the board did not rescind previous layoff warnings by Wednesday's state deadline. A story posted on May 14, 2013 incorrectly indicated the vote applied to all the positions.

The school board also voted on Tuesday to increase class sizes to 24 students in kindergarten through third grades, 32students in grades four through eight and push student loads for most high school teachers to 180students. The class size increases account for 17 positions cut.

Teachers agreed to an increase in what they pay for health benefits. The changes cut $1.5 million in spending from next year's budget.

Plumbtree said the district must target $5 million in cuts over three years to remain solvent.

"We are in a serious mess. These cuts go beyond music," trustee George Valenzuela said.

The vote came on the eve of the state deadline to finalize preliminary layoff notices issued in March.

School districts had until today to rescind layoff warnings issued in March. The layoffs made official by today's legal deadline do not include temporary teachers who are notified every year that their spots in the classroom are not guaranteed.

Those affected by today's layoff notices are probationary or tenured teachers.

Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget was released Tuesday but education officials said it is still too early to know how the new document will affect education funding.

"The problem didn't arrive overnight and it's not going to go away overnight," Denise Calvert, deputy superintendent of business services for the Sonoma County Office of Education said of Windsor's financial woes. "This type of community response is typical, when you are talking about programs that they really like."

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CLARIFICATION: Added June 13, 2013

The Windsor School Board on Tuesday voted to accept an agreement with the Windsor District Educators Association that effectively eliminates 17 full-time teaching positions. Twenty-three other full-time teaching positions were eliminated when the board did not rescind previous layoff warnings by Wednesday's state deadline. A story posted on May 14, 2013 incorrectly indicated the vote applied to all the positions.