Talk about timing.
On National Teachers Day, the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board voted 5-0 to eliminate 11 classified employees and the full-time equivalent of 12 teacher and counselor positions to save nearly $2 million.
Four teachers will be laid off entirely, while the remaining eight teachers and counselors will move into lesser-paying jobs in the district, if they choose to accept them.
“This is a really hard position to even be in, or consider,” board member Gabe Escobedo said. “These are not decisions that anyone has taken lightly.”
The decision comes as the district and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association are locked in an intense battle over a new contract, with a potential job strike looming if the two sides can’t reach an agreement by the end of the school year.
“For those who are affected, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the work they have done and the commitment they have shown for supporting our students,” Escobedo said.
The cuts Tuesday night were separate from the negotiations with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association, and those employees are represented by a different union.
The classified teacher positions slated to be cut include a program facilitator, a special-education instructional support specialist, a teacher on special assignment, a multi-tiered system of support teacher, counselors and early childhood education teachers.
The classified layoffs include positions such as youth outreach workers, a human resources specialist, campus safety personnel, crisis care specialists and family engagement liaisons.
Devon Espejo, an art teacher, urged the district not to lay off classified employees.
“Teachers lost their trust and faith in this district a long time ago,” Espejo said, “and an increasing number of parents and students have also lost their trust in this board as well.”
Espejo said the district’s entire workforce has been speaking out at meetings for months to call for better treatment.
“You simply cannot recover from this by continuing to cut jobs and livelihoods,” Espejo said.
She said she relies on classified employees daily to help her do her job.
“These are people who not only work incredibly hard for this district, but they do it for a subpar living wage in Santa Barbara,” Espejo said.
As has been the case at board meetings for several months, teachers, students and their supporters filled the board room as well as a spillover room. On Tuesday, they held a “wake” outside the district headquarters featuring food, drink and music.
The district is reeling from a major public relations nightmare. All over town, residents and business owners have placed “We Support SBTA” and “We Support Teachers” signs in their windows.
Many teachers have called on the district to reduce costs in the district cabinet and point to a $221,000 chief operating officer position added by Superintendent Hilda Maldonado two years ago — a position the district never had before her tenure.
They also pointed to the cabinet’s combined $2 million annual payroll, including benefits.
Kristin Bollingmo, a STEAM teacher at Harding University Partnership School, is on maternity leave. She said Tuesday night was the first time she missed bath night with her baby, as she fought back tears.
“I say that not as a guilt trip, but we are taking this very seriously,” Bollingmo said. “Time and time again it feels like the district is not taking it as seriously.”
Bollingmo noted that the district’s next date for teacher salary negotiations is June 12, the second to last day of school.
The district was given five dates for a “fact-finding” meeting, and the district chose the last possible date.
She mentioned that a colleague was given a layoff notice while he was on paternity leave and now is looking for a job outside of the area.
“We are real people, and we’re here, we’re showing up,” Bollingmo said. “Please show up with the same enthusiasm and respect.”
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