SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : 40 Laid-Off Teachers Likely to Be Rehired

Forty teachers who were recently laid off by the Capistrano Unified School District received much-welcomed word Tuesday that they will probably be rehired in August.

“Things are looking a little more hopeful,” said Chris Schefter, a popular social science teacher at Marco Forster Junior High School in San Juan Capistrano who was among those laid off this summer. “Nothing is sure. But I feel better about it.”

On Tuesday, district officials began calling all 40 middle school and high school teachers on the layoff list to tell them chances were good that they would be rehired Aug. 17--regardless of how deep the state Legislature cuts the education budget.

Terri E. Lunine, district assistant superintendent for human resources, said the prospects for another 18 elementary teachers and guidance counselors, who were also laid off, are less certain.

In the past six months, an unexpectedly high number of teachers have decided to retire, resign or seek leaves of absence, Lunine said. Thanks to these 90 extra openings, district officials are recommending that the Board of Trustees rehire the teachers who would have been let go. Most had just finished their first year of teaching, Lunine said.

“It’s welcome news to the district,” Board of Trustees President Crystal Kochendorfer said. “These are some of our best teachers. We went to a lot of effort to find the best we could find and I don’t want to lose them.”

In June, anticipating severe cuts in state funding, the board approved about $10 million in cuts to help balance its $110-million budget. About 140 full-time staff and teaching positions were eliminated and average class sizes were increased by one student. Staff members holding 93 full-time, non-teaching positions have already been sent layoff notices.

In March, as required by state law, the district sent preliminary layoff notices to 287 teachers. So far, 228 of those notices have been rescinded.

“I’m delighted the district is calling the teachers back so they can try and make something of their summer,” said Ric Stephenson, president of the Capistrano Unified Education Assn. “There will have to be a tremendous amount of morale rebuilding at the beginning of the school year so we can become cohesive again and devote our fullest attention to the task of educating children.”