PLACENTIA : School Board Will Issue Layoff Notices

The Placentia Unified School District board voted to issue preliminary layoff notices to eliminate 141 positions, including all school counselors, assistant principals and elementary music and physical education instructors.

The district also will issue preliminary notices to some school nurses, high school athletic directors and first-grade reading specialists, along with several English-as-a-second-language instructors, psychologists and speech therapists.

The board’s action Tuesday came in response to the possibility that lost income and increased expenses could set the district back as much as $9.4 million if Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposed 1991-92 budget is adopted in full.

Although a final state budget isn’t expected to be approved until late spring or early summer, the district is required by law to issue preliminary notices to most certified employees by March 15. School officials are still studying seniority and certification guidelines to determine which employees will receive notices.

“There aren’t a whole lot of options we have when you make $9 million worth of cuts,” said Timothy VanEck, assistant superintendent for personnel services. “These are not frills. These are courses that are going to hurt the entire program.”

School officials said many employees could be hired back or reassigned if the state budget picture changes, although final layoff notices must be issued by May 15.

Before the board voted, several parents and a student urged board members to not cut elementary music programs, saying that such instruction should be considered part of a student’s regular education.

“I really do not think that it is fair to the students,” said K.C. Pico, a junior high school student who started playing the flute in elementary school. “Eventually this will follow up in the junior high schools and the high schools.”