SIMI VALLEY : Teachers Picket Over Proposed Layoffs

Twenty-three Simi Valley schoolteachers picketed in front of Valley View Junior High School on Thursday to protest proposed layoffs that would affect 32 temporary teachers, four librarians, seven nurses and 34 administrators.

Faced with an $8.5-million shortfall in its proposed $76-million budget for 1990-91, the Simi Valley Unified School District has proposed the layoffs to help lower the deficit.

District spokeswoman Pamela Spencer said the state funding may make it possible for the district to retain some of the employees.

“We’re hoping that adequate funding will come through,” Spencer said.

The board will make its final decision after the governor revises the state budget in June.

Bill Davenport, a Valley View Junior High School teacher, said he was carrying a picket sign that said “Help Save Class Size” in part because he fears that the proposed layoffs would result in teachers having larger classes.

“Our position is that these cuts should never have been considered in the first place,” Davenport said. “The board previously said they would keep the cuts as far away from the students as possible. But these directly affect the children’s education.”