District officials announced Thursday that they had rescinded 96 percent of the layoff notices issued in March. Of the 234 preliminary layoffs issued, 225 of them had been rescinded.
In a statement, district spokesperson Maureen Magee wrote the reversal came after an analysis of revenue trends and expenses and by taking advantage of retirements and resignations that limited the need for actual layoffs.
“Despite a significant deficit, I am proud that through data-driven planning that prioritized children’s needs, we have developed a fiscally sound budget with limited impacts on our tremendous educators,” Board President Shana Hazan wrote in the statement.
Why now: Board member Richard Barrera said finalizing the layoff reversal now was important because of the union contract’s seniority rules. When the district eliminates positions, those impacted can shift to other positions if they have the credentials needed and are more senior than those currently in them. But that shift then displaces more people.
The start date for that process, called post and bid, is rapidly approaching. Reversing the layoffs before that start date prevented that disruptive cascading effect that would have led to teachers being shuffled to new positions or schools even if they didn’t actually get laid off.
How we got here: In July, district officials announced they were projecting a massive budget deficit that could reach as high as $128 million.
The district was weathering a mixture of financial headwinds from the expiration of Covid stimulus dollars, a continued decline in enrollment and a tightening state budget. A new union contract that granted big raises to teachers also added to costs, though district officials have denied they influenced the deficit.
Officials said they were confident they would be able to balance the books without resorting to layoffs. But in March, they announced teacher layoffs were imminent. Over the following months, both teachers and students rallied against the layoffs.
New year, same thing: Still, despite the good news, the district will face more tough financial decisions next year. This year, officials were working to plug a $94 million hole in the district’s balance sheet, but it’s expected to grow next year.
But deficits aren’t entirely new. Aside from the Covid years, during which stimulus money was pumped into schools, San Diego Unified has regularly grappled with fiscal shortfalls, Barrera said.
“Every spring the conversation is always going to be about how we fill a hole,” Barrera said. “We might hit March (2025) and there may be layoff notices, but just like we did this year I know the team will find strategies to pare them back.”
This post has been updated.
What is not understood in this article is that many of us are excessed due to a reduction in force (position elimination) due to lack of funds. Ad a result we are given “priority consideration” status for all the positions on post and bid which ended on May 6. Many of us have been teaching for years and now we are finding out that many of the jobs we were supposed to have priority for are and bid on are going back to people whose pink slips have been rescinded. The right thing to do would have been to continue with the process and then allow pink slipped teachers to have any other open jobs. Instead we have little positions to choose from and any of us not placed will be random “special
Support educators” at designated high need schools with no real job definition and will also be subject to moving to ANOTHER site if they need to move us mid fall!!! How is this cost cutting ?? This whole situation is outrageous and unfair and many of us are going to terminate our union SDEA Memberships over this. I would love to talk further if interested.
Balancing the books by taking advantage of retirements results in a net reduction in teachers — or at least experienced teachers. That may be in the best interest of teachers, but its definitely not in the best interest of students. Newer teachers are cheaper, but that’s probably balanced by the pension liability that SDUSD has to pay for the retirees.
It’s patently ridiculous to say that big raises to teachers also added to costs, but somehow did not influence deficit. If that’s the kind of math they’re teaching at SDUSD, then no wonder students are struggling.
Say you don’t understand the retirement system without saying it. The District does not pay a retired person’s pension. The payments stop once a person retires.