BVUSD’s Board Approves Interim 2009 Budget Yesterday; 18 Elementary and BBMS Teachers Expected to Receive Pink Slips on Friday

At the Wednesday evening meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Bear Valley Unified School District, the second interim budget report was reviewed and approved. As presented, the $130,000 in proposed district-wide cuts will be implemented for the 2009/2010 school year though, as Superintendent Carole Ferraud tells KBHR, “We are still working in positive relations with our unions, and hoping that will help us rescind those cuts. We’re meeting with BVEA on Friday, and with CSEA right after spring break.”
Despite the cuts in place, there will be pink slips distributed to some certificated staff on March 13, as the annual deadline for school districts to alert teachers regarding staffing for the next school year is March 15 (which falls on the weekend). According to the district’s Director of Personnel and Special Programs, Tim Larson, “There will be 18 people receiving notices.” Of those 18 teachers who may not be rehired for the 2009/2010 school year, Larson says that they are full-time certificated staff who work at the elementaries and Big Bear Middle School. Larson adds, “We had to go on the most conservative route, because we don’t have a signed agreement yet, but these can be pulled back. We are hoping to minimize even this number, pending final budget determinations from the state. There’s a whole bunch of balls in the air right now, so we’re trying to sort this out and make sure it impacts students and employees in the least negative way.” Walter Con, the school district’s Director of Business Services, explains, “This is separate from the budget cuts. We are realigning our staffing ratios, and this has nothing to do with declining enrollment.”
Con notes that the second interim budget is but a snapshot in time, as conditions with the state budget continue to change and affect individual school district budgets. So, as it stands now, the aforementioned $130,000 in cuts—which included reductions to athletic budgets and some classified personnel positions, as well as a reduction in compensation to the school board—are in place for next year, though results of negotiations with certificated and classified unions could alter the outcome for next school year. As far as the overall financial situation for BVUSD, Con tells KBHR, “We are proud that, even in these economic times, we still have a positive certification, due in part to the fact that we are spending down our reserves.”
For background information and specifics on BVUSD budget cuts, use the search bar at top right on our website and enter key words: budget cuts.