The Morning Report
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The San Diego Unified school board voted to slash or reduce jobs for employees who don’t teach, following through on part of its budget plan that was in jeopardy earlier this week. The cuts include reducing hours and cutting jobs for workers in an English tutoring program and in a program for pregnant and parenting teens.
Two days ago, the board deadlocked on whether to make the cuts, a step that Superintendent Bill Kowba said could throw the school district credit rating into question because the cuts were part of its broader, already-approved budget plan.
Board members John de Beck and Shelia Jackson opted against the cuts, which were estimated to save more than $900,000; de Beck disputed that number, saying it was inflated.
De Beck also argued today that even a small change in attendance rates could help avert the cuts. He believes at least one high school has been miscounting tardy students as truant, warping the attendance numbers, and argued that if the practice were investigated the district could avoid making this cut.
The vote was 2-2 on Tuesday because one member, Richard Barrera, was absent. Barrera teleconferenced to an afternoon school board meeting today and voted for the cuts along with John Lee Evans and Katherine Nakamura, ending the deadlock and finalizing the cuts.
— EMILY ALPERT