Politics & Government

VVSD to Reconsider Job Cuts

Board will vote on proposal to dismiss first- through fourth-year teachers, support staff.

Three weeks after (RIF) that would have meant dismissal notices for 401 teachers and 162 support staff, the will take another look at staffing cuts at Monday’s meeting.

Last time around, board members unanimously voted against the plan, which would have affected first- through fifth-year teachers.

The proposal on Monday’s agenda is for a reduction in force affecting first- through fourth-year teachers.

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Sharon Hawks, VVSD executive director for human resources, has said the dismissals would be temporary for all but 30 to 40 teachers and the same number of support staff, with the rest being called back for the 2012-13 school year. Staffing reductions are necessary due to program changes, an expected drop in state school funding and decreased enrollment, according to Hawks.

After hundreds of people showed up for the March 26 meeting, with the overflow crowd spilling out into the hallways at the district administration center, Monday’s meeting has to . The public portion of the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. 

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Program changes could mean cuts

The board is also due to vote on reductions to the district’s driver’s education program, as well as a new middle school intervention program aimed at helping students meet new college and career readiness standards.

Currently, the district’s two high schools employ a total of 19 full-time driver’s education instructors.

In a report to the board, Assistant Superintendent Rachel Kinder outlined options for cutting costs associated with driver’s education, including “significant reduction in staffing,” shifting state mandated behind-the-wheel time to before/after school or during the summer, and a possible reduction in the district’s fleet of 10 driver’s ed vehicles.

 “It is imperative that we review current programming/staffing/use of resources and look for ways to avoid cuts in core academic areas that directly impact student achievement. It is also necessary that we reallocate limited resources to support academic priorities and address student need,” Kinder said in her report.

The report cites a maximum savings to the district of $1.1 million, depending on how the board decides to proceed with program changes.

The board will also take a look at Compass Learning’s Odyssey program, an online intervention aimed at bolstering college and career readiness standards for grades six to eight.

The program would mean students who don’t meet benchmarks would spend less time in careers classes — namely art, music, family and consumer sciences and applied tech.

Depending on their level of need, students would receive careers instruction three days per week or two days per week, with the online Odyssey instruction on the alternate two or three days per week.

The Odyssey program would cost Valley View $29,171 per school, for a total of $145,855, as a one-time cost, or $60,000 per school for three years. 


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