False positive: Rescinded layoffs cause unnecessary stress for teachers

Band Director Matthew Bringedahl conducting 5th period orchestra class (Sophia Hughes, The Puma Prensa)

By Sophia Hughes, editor, and Kevin Wei, Video editor

On March 15, over 60 teachers district-wide were notified they would be laid off due to budget cuts. Recently, however, a majority of those layoffs have been rescinded, and many teachers who were preparing to lose their jobs are now preparing their classes for next year. Despite the good news of regaining their jobs, the layoffs have caused frustration and unnecessary stress across Santa Rosa City Schools.

According to Maria Carrillo High School Social Science teacher and Site Representative Scott Wallach, the massive amount of teacher layoffs makes up “the most layoffs that [the district has] done in the decade that I’ve been here.” 

Layoffs are mainly determined by seniority—how long a teacher has been employed. Those hired within the last two years are considered to have a more flexible contract and are more likely to be let go. Meanwhile, teachers who have reached four years are awarded the status of permanent teacher, meaning they take priority and are the most protected within the teachers' union. 

Some teachers pointed out errors in the way layoff notifications were sent out. For example, when school districts face budget cuts, they are usually forced to remove some positions and notify teachers of layoffs by March 15. This year, the district notified teachers on March 15, the latest possible notification date. 

Additionally, after these select teachers were notified, they were asked to review a list confirming seniority, which had plenty of gaps and errors that teachers, who had the stress of finding another job, were tasked to find and fix. Math teacher Stacey Olsen was a teacher on MCHS who received a layoff notification that was rescinded on April 25. She said, “People’s credentials weren’t right or their year of hire were wrong. There were a lot of errors and they basically sent out the document…and put the onus on us to correct it.” 

Moreover, teachers across the district faced undue stress. Olsen explains, “They had the opportunity to fix that list that went out. They had the opportunity to dig deeper into funding. They had the opportunity to get some questions answered before they had to send out the notices for layoffs.” Additionally, in Olsen's experience, they didn't make the process easy. “A lot of it was just word of mouth. I had to talk to other math teachers and figure out what was going on.” She “had to do a lot of digging to find that list of FTEs (full-time employees) that were being cut. I had to go into the board documents and see what was approved and what was not approved.” Olsen also expressed that she wishes “[the district] would have been more transparent when they had passed how much was being cut.” Furthermore, according to Wallach, “Our district has a track record of not budgeting well over the last decade that I’ve worked here.” 

English department chair Maddie Doyle used to work for the union as a high school negotiator. Based on her experience, she believes that due to an unfinished assessment of the budget in a timely manner, they overcompensated and sent out the release notices on the latest date possible. Such overcompensation led teachers to frantically search for new jobs and department chairs to assess the damage unnecessarily. Doyle built an English department schedule based on the specific skill sets of each new teacher and set them with the best-suited class. If these teachers were to be let go, it would be difficult to supply more teachers that fit these specific skill sets. 

Band students may be aware that band teacher Matthew Bowker was on the list of teachers notified of a layoff. If Bowker were let go, “It would have been fairly catastrophic,” according to band teacher Matt Bringedahl “because [instrumental music is] enrolled at two full-time jobs next year.” Furthermore, according to Bowker, he would have around “100 students” enrolled in his classes next year, making him one of the highest enrolled teachers on campus.

Aside from the pressure put on these teachers, there was also a new stress for students. Math chair Brittney Geddes explained, “A lot of students make connections with their teachers, and to hear that they’re leaving is really upsetting.” Bringedahl says students “really enjoy [Bowker], and it would be a huge hit not to have him here.” 

The Prensa attempted to contact Assistant​ Superintendent Vicki Zands to comment on the content listed above for insight on the administrators’ perspectives. However, she did not respond to email or voice mail requests for comment.

In the future, budget cuts will likely affect funding for many subscription services. In fact, services such as Edpuzzle, GoGuardian, and Wayfinder are in jeopardy. There may be possible understaffing in local elementary schools as well as the cutting of some training programs. As Wallach stated, the entire situation “creates a lot of inconsistency and a lot of chaos—at a time in the year where nobody needs chaos.”