Pink slips issued to 22 teachers
Barring a last-minute infusion of funds or new developments, 22 teachers who received pink slips from the Redwood City School District this month will be out when the 2015-16 school year begins.
District board presi- dent Dennis McBride lays most of the blame for staff cuts at the feet of two charter schools launching in the district this fall — Rocketship Education and KIPP Excelencia Preparatory — and Connect Community Charter School, which will begin its third year on the Fair Oaks Community School campus. The charters, which he said could take roughly 780 students out of traditional public schools where enrollment already is expected to dip by about 50 next school year, are the main reason for an expected $1.5 million budget deficit.
McBride, however, noted the district won’t know for sure until August whether it will need to eliminate all the positions.
“An example is if the PTA comes in and says, ‘We’re going to re-fund something from last year,’ a teacher gets added back,” McBride said. Teachers and staff then would be rehired “in order of seniority.”
Twenty-one classroom teachers and one Spanish instructor received pink slips after a 5-0 vote by the school board at its March 11 meeting, as well as a counselor, assistant principal, English language specialist, outreach specialist, reading intervention staffer and English language arts coach, totalling the equivalent of 27.7 full-time employees.
— Kevin Kelly
