LAGUNA BEACH : School Board Rescinds Layoffs for 11 Teachers

With its financial picture brightening, the school board has rescinded layoff notices it sent earlier to 11 district teachers.

In April, when the “reduction in force” notices were mailed, school officials were unsure how much money the district would recover from the collapsed Orange County investment pool.

State law requires that any teacher who may not be rehired for the next school year be notified by March 15. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the county’s December bankruptcy filing, however, district officials reached an agreement with teachers that allowed them an additional 30 days to give notice.

At that time, the district had recovered only 75% of the $7 million it had in the investment pool. Since then, however, it has recouped another 15% of its money.

As a result, the Laguna Beach Unified School District board voted unanimously this week to rescind the notices.

Heralding more good news for the district, Chief Financial Officer Terry Bustillos said Friday he will ask the board Tuesday to set aside money in next year’s budget for the long-awaited reconstruction of 14 classrooms that burned at Thurston Middle School in the October, 1993, firestorm.

The district had already begun seeking bids to launch that project, and the contract will probably be rewarded next month, Bustillos said.

Despite the positive news, Bustillos said, the district, which has already cut $397,398 in expenditures from the coming year’s budget, will still be operating under tight financial constraints.

“It’s one of those years [when] we’re going to have to say, ‘If you want to spend here, what do you propose we reduce?’ ” he said. “It’s going to be a matter of priorities throughout the year.”