They already stressed classrooms will experience a class sizes increase by one student in grades 4 through 12. The board voted 4-1 to approve the cuts. Foster voted no.
The District claims the cuts will save the district an additional $10 million. That is of course, until the court orders the hiring of more central office administrators.
The Governing Board was also asked to consider outsourcing human resources, transportation, ground maintenance and custodial services. The vote to explore outsourcing those functions was not unanimous; with a 3-2 vote. Foster and Grijalva voted against it.
Governing Board member Michael Hicks is asking the administration about the possibility of saving jobs by asking employees to take a cut in pay across the board. He is also questioning why the administration chose not to make cuts in upper management. For example, the Assistant Superintendent position, now held by Maria Menconi, was supposed to be only a temporary position. While the district has not filled the position was held by Dr. Lupita Garcia, they have recently added more central office employees.
The Governing Board also voted on a proclamation to name February 4-8, 2013 National School Counseling Week. After the unanimous vote, Dr. Mark Stegeman said to his fellow Board members, “Irony noted.”