A La Cañada High employee who was commended for thwarting a carjacking is laid off due to ‘budget efficiences’
La Cañada Unified school board members voted Tuesday to eliminate the position of supervisor of operations at La Cañada High School, laying off an employee commended in March for interrupting a Feb. 15 attempted carjacking on campus involving a minor.
Carl Payne’s full-time position will be eliminated effective July 14, according to Assistant Supt. of Human Resources Jeff Davis, who cited budget efficiencies as the impetus for the decision.
Payne, along with maintenance and operations employees Melvin Jones, Alvin Jones and Eliseo Williams, received certificates of appreciation and $100 gift cards at a March 14 school board meeting for confronting three juveniles who’d approached a 13-year-old sitting in a car and demanded he turn over the vehicle to them.
The employees called the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, and deputies later apprehended the trio of suspects in nearby Hahamongna Park.
“I have to commend this person — he’s done an outstanding job,” LCUSD Supt. Wendy Sinnette said Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate, due to budget constraints and needed efficiencies, that we had to ask for a reduction in force.”
Payne was originally hired to the position in fall of 2014, according to Chief Business and Operations Officer Mark Evans. The cost savings from the position elimination is estimated at $92,103.
Also Tuesday, board members passed a resolution reducing one class period of ceramic art at La Cañada High School for the 2017-18 school year, due to a decline in student enrollment. The estimated savings from the reduction has been calculated at $10,638.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
