Although 24 school employees have been notified they may lose their positions because of budget cuts, officials said this week that at least 10, and maybe more, may be recalled.
South Whidbey school officials have been grappling with ways to trim $1.8 million from the budget.
“This difficult process will continue, and there may be more people recalled through the summer,” said district business manager Dan Poolman.
District officials said they are working hard to look at every way to save money while saving teachers’ jobs, but the biggest expense for any school district is salary and benefits.
The total saved in salary and benefits from the “reduction in force” notices equals $857,481, a significant portion of the $1.2 million the school district must pare from next year’s employee budget. In accordance with a collective-bargaining agreement worked out two years ago with the teachers’ union, seniority and program value are the prime considerations as to who goes, and who stays.
Some of those who have gotten layoff notices have been working in local schools for more than a decade.
Elementary school teacher Heather Dubendorf received a RIF notice along with other employees on May 1. Dubendorf has the longest service of any teacher on the RIF list; she began in September 1998. Kindergarten teacher Emily Czerwonka is the newest; she started in September 2008.
There is also a wide disparity in pay for those on the RIF list. The top payment package is $80,128, while the pay and benefits at the other end of the spectrum is$2,097.
The complex RIF process allows the district to offer teachers and other certificated employees a position different than their current assignment.
For example, should an employee be laid off at the high school, that person could be rehired to teach a similar subject — for which they are fully qualified — or be recalled to teach fewer classes.
School employees on the final “RIF” list at the elementary school are Val Brown, Diane Burgess, Emily Czerwonka, Heather Dubendorf, Betsy Hofius, Wendy Shearer and Leslie Woods. At the middle school: Chad Felgar, Sarah Diers, Louise Fiore, Jessica Foley and Charles Snelling. At the high school: Mark Hodson, John LaVassar, Steve Jones, Jay Freundlich, Don Gochanour, Sharyl Harless and Don Wodjenski.
At Bayview School: Carrie Whitney. At Whidbey Island Academy: Patti Craig, Linda Good, Sharla Matthews and Ashley McConnaughey.
Brown, Fiore, Foley, Snelling, Jones, Freundlich and Wodjenski have received recall notices.
The grim financial outlook and resulting layoffs are a direct reflection of declining enrollment.
The state annually pays school districts a fixed amount based on how many full-time students are registered. Later this fall, the district expects 139 fewer children in South End public schools, which means a roughly $770,000 drop in revenue.
Following sustained growth between 1995 to 2000 — an increase of 22 students per year — enrollment has declined an average of 52 students per year through 2007.
In other words, the South Whidbey school district has dropped from a high of 2,264 kids enrolled in 2000 to 1,898 this year.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
