SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schools May Send 46 Layoff Notices

Capistrano Unified School District officials have asked the Board of Trustees for permission to send layoff notices to 32 teachers, 12 principals and two administrators.

Supt. Jerome R. Thornsley said that this does not mean that layoffs will actually occur but that the district needs to keep its options open as it tries to pare $4.2 million from next year’s budget.

The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal Monday. State law requires that teachers and administrators who could be laid off be notified of that possibility by March 15. Thornsley said the notices will probably target teachers in programs that could be eliminated. District officials have not determined those programs.

But even if a program is eliminated, that does not mean that its teachers and administrator will be laid off, Thornsley said, unless that is the only subject the person is qualified to teach.

“For example, one category we are looking at (eliminating) is the elementary music program, where we have four special teachers who go to classrooms and teach music instead of having the regular teacher do it,” Thornsley said. “If a teacher only has a music credential, they are out. But if they have an elementary education credential and seniority over an elementary teacher, they would get that job.”

Also, administrators who lose their position would be eligible to take classroom positions from those with less seniority in the district.

Thornsley said the district usually hires about 150 new teachers a year through growth and attrition, which also makes it unlikely that many employees will be terminated.

Capistrano Unified, as well as most districts in the state, is considering staff reductions because of Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposal to slash $2 billion from next year’s state education budget.

Neighboring Saddleback Valley Unified School District has already announced that it will send out layoff notices to teachers this week.

Ric Stephenson, president of the Capistrano Unified Education Assn., the teachers’ union, said he understands the district’s predicament but hopes layoff notices will not be sent unless absolutely necessary.

“I hope that they’re being cautious and not overreacting,” he said. “Even if it turns out that the person is not losing his or her job, the notice plays havoc with their lives for several months while they wait to know whether they have a job.”