Centinela School District Will Lay Off 14 Teachers’ Aides
The Centinela Valley Union High School District said it will lay off 14 teachers’ aides and reduce the hours of 20 others in June.
The school board voted 3 to 2 on April 28 to make the cutbacks at Hawthorne, Leuzinger and R.K. Lloyde high schools. Administrators said the cuts were necessary because of a reduction in state funding.
The move will save the district about $240,000 next year, said Darlene Daniel, coordinator of personnel services.
The cuts will affect programs for academically disadvantaged students and those with limited English skills, Daniel said.
Board members Michael A. Escalante, Ruth Morales and Pamela Sturgeon voted to make the cuts. Jean DeSimone and Sheila Stachowiak voted against the layoffs.
“I think there are lots of areas of waste that could be cut first,” Stachowiak said. “This just hurts the kids.”
But others on the board said the affected programs need to support themselves because of the district’s financial difficulties. “These programs need to be self-sustained,” Morales said. “That was not happening.”
Administrators said the district, on the verge of bankruptcy last year, probably will receive $800,000 less from the state next year than expected.
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