BREA : Schools Plan Layoffs If Prop. 174 Passes

The Brea-Olinda Unified School District has unveiled plans to lay off teachers, librarians, high school counselors and other staff members and to eliminate programs if Proposition 174, the school voucher initiative, passes on the Nov. 2 ballot.

District officials said Brea-Olinda will lose 10%, or $2 million, in funds if voters approve the measure.

Cuts would include 10 teachers, eight clerks, two custodians, the junior high guidance specialist, all four high school counselors, a district office staffer, about 10 bus drivers and all eight librarians.

The elimination of librarian jobs--one at each of the district’s eight libraries--would mean that no one could check out books because the libraries would be closed, Assistant Supt. Peter J. Boothroyd said.

He added that besides transportation for special education students, no busing services would be offered. Also, all extracurricular activities, including sports programs, would be discontinued and no new textbooks would be bought.

“Education is scrapped for dollars as it is,” Boothroyd said. “We’re cut to the bone already. The voucher initiative would be like cutting off an arm and a leg. You still have the body, but it’s not as effective as it was.”

District officials mailed out a newsletter outlining the potential cuts to show parents how the initiative would affect their children’s schooling, Boothroyd said.