Budget cuts are becoming a big topic of conversation on the campus of UC High, and the effects of the dilemma will take hold this upcoming 2012-2013 school year.
According to Principal Jeff Olivero, the elimination of all staff members, both certificated (teachers, counselors, administration) and classified (office staff), is based on seniority. “It is not necessarily about the specific staff member as much as all other corresponding positions in the district,” he explained. All district school are being impacted by the loss of workers.
“It’s awful because our teachers should be able to stay in place and keep their jobs and hours. I think the governor should make it a priority that education comes first,” said School General Secretary Barbara Kylstad. Her particular position in the front office will lose hours, as her 6-hour workday will be reduced to four hours.
Public school funding has been steadily decreasing in the state of California since 2007. The reductions have come to reach almost $500 million total in the San Diego Unified School District alone. Though student enrollment in the area has remained the same since budget cuts first began, schools must continue to serve students with a 25 percent cut in funds (sandi.net).
Olivero confirmed that the district as of now plans to cut 12 UC High staff members for next year. Some certificated staff are willing to work fewer hours in order to maintain their jobs, but it is still expected that the entirety of the office staff will either lose hours or have their position eliminated. No member of the classified staff (front office staff) will have a full 8-hour workday next year, according to Olivero.
Students and parents at UC High will be impacted by this change in staff hours and general amount of staff members as well. Students will be placed in classes consisting of roughly 39-45 students, according to Olivero, and there will be fewer of an already minimized staff to attend to parents’ communication needs. Support of the school’s population as a whole will decrease significantly.