On January 10, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a multi-billion projected deficit in California’s general budget. In response to this extreme shortfall, the San Diego Unified School District school board voted to lay off hundreds of teachers, administrators, bus drivers, and food service workers.
In the most recent meeting, on March 26, tensions were high as the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA), two labor unions representing many SDUSD employees, protested the decision made on March 5. Both the building and the courtyard of the Board of Education building in University Heights were filled with protesters wearing red shirts reading “Together we are Stronger” and holding signs representing pink slips, which were given by the school board to notify employees that their contract to work will not be renewed in the coming year. One of the protesters, Alexandria Ortega, a teacher at Baker Elementary, was there protesting because, after only three years of teaching, she received a pink slip. She explained why she protested, “I don’t think it’s right for my students. I can’t show up for them if I’m also concerned about what’s going on with the layoffs and the future of my school is in a highly impacted area.”
Many protesters held the sentiment that there are alternatives to these layoffs. The SDEA and many protesters explained that the board has reserves of money that they can utilize. Dr. Cody Petterson, a La Jolla High alum and a board member representing sub-district C, stated that there was no other option than to lay employees, “We have handled the lion’s share through attrition, hiring and vacancy freezes, and reductions in contract and vendor expenses, but ultimately somewhere around $25 million of our $93 million shortfall will have to be covered by layoffs.” Many employees at the protest had received notices that they will not be rehired; however not many teachers will be unemployed, according to Petterson, “..although around 200 certificated staff and 600 classified staff were issued pink slips, far less than that will not be with the district in the coming year.” The layoffs will most certainly continue to be a highly discussed topic in the future.
