The Mt. Diablo School Board is expected to vote tonight on cutting 11 non-teaching positions and scaling back the workdays of about 125 school office workers.
These cuts are seen as a compromise worked out after the district said it needed to slash the jobs of 23 school secretaries to save $1.1 million a year, the Contra Costa Times reports. The district needs to cut $31 million over the next four years, and is also looking at instituting furlough days and eliminating three days from this school year.
The new reductions would save more than $1.4 million and specifically involve cutting the positions of three operations and maintenance workers, eight adult education employees and reducing the hours and workdays of elementary school secretaries, office managers, and middle and high school office employees.
The meeting takes place 7:30 p.m. at the district offices, 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord.
17 comments:
Walnut Creek needs to share the wealth. They haven't laid off any teachers. They need to put Walnut Creek Schools in the Walnut Creek School District. Quit being so greedy Walnut Creek School District.
Has adult ed been cut out yet? I still can't believe all the painful cuts that have been made to kids, leaving adult ed programs intact. I know they're valuable, but everything is valuable, and the district should focus on educating kids. The adults already had their shot.
10:24 -- teachers in WCSD have gotten pink slips. Yes, the grass probably is greener on this side of the fence but we're still struggling. The cost of moving the fence is way more than anyone can possibly spend right now (even if there was the popular will to do so).
It's not just WC folks being greedy. All the districts want to protect their turf, and their ADA.
Mt. Diablo does not want to lose you. I would also like to see a united Walnut Creek. It is one of the things I love about WC Little League. We get to meet people from all over the City, not just in the District. But these things are so difficult to change.
We are not your enemy.
Anon 10:24- before telling WC to "quit being so greedy" keep in mind that homeowners in the WC school district are paying some hefty parcel taxes for their schools. Homeowners in Mt. Diablo refused to pass such a parcel tax. Perhaps you should re-consider who sounds greedy when you demand that WCSD homeowners to "share the wealth" when you refuse to pass your own parcel tax.
All that said, I can't imagine that anyone in WC or Mt. Diablo wants to see any of these cuts. All of our kids deserve better than this.
WCSD encompasses a relatively small, well-to-do area. Most, if not all, residents in that district can easily afford hefty parcel taxes.
Parts of MDUSD are in similar well-to-do areas where people can afford to pay a tax, but much of the district covers areas where that is not the case. That is why the WC portion of MDUSD wants to escape and move over to WCSD.
Gary Eberhart and Paul Strange,
LET NORTHGATE GO! We are tired of MDUSD dragging us down this sinkhole year after year.
Mt. Diablo adult ed actually makes money. anon 10:33, Please review the facts before making statements.
Anon 4:02 PM
I would happily pay 3x or more what you currently pay in parcel taxes for WCSD if all of WC was Unified under one school district. Those on the other side of the LINE have the ability to pay and are happy to pay, we just want our money to remain within our community. So are you being greedy - yes! My property tax dollars fund our police department that keeps your kids safe but your school board refuses to look at a well thought out analysis for Unifying WC and its schools.
Anon 7:11: Anon 4:02 here- I think what needs to happen is less generalizing about each other and more working together toward a goal here. I, in fact, signed the petitions to unify your schools with mine when those petitions were going around, just as I am sure from your comments that you probably voted FOR the parcel tax.
However, given that neither the unification of the school district nor the MDUSD parcel tax passed, the fact remains that your schools are still in MDUSD, that your school district did not pass the parcel tax, and WC did- and it is not greedy for the WCSD to use that money to keep its teachers (to the greatest extent possible).
All of our energies would be much better spent pointing fingers at Sacramento and the failures at THAT level (which are ASTRONOMICAL), than at pointing fingers at your neighbors and calling them greedy.
4:02- Sounds to me as though you have buyer's remorse. You should have checked out the school district before you bought that big house in Northgate. Don't blame WCSD for your lack of due diligence. As far as the well thought out analysis you claim that the WCSD board won't even look at, could it be that they already know it would never be approved in Sacramento due to the drastic change in the racial makeup of MDUSD it would cause? MDUSD would probably lose 20%+ of its white students if the school district boundaries were changed. Not only would the state board of education not approve the change, but you can bet that some group will want the courts to get involved also. Who is going to pay for this? If you really want to be in WCSD move a few miles south.
I agree with you Anon 12:07, they should stop complaining and just move. If I felt it necessary for my children, I would move too. But we are happy in our neighborhood and with our schools. Many would shudder at my statement, but I know from experience and lots of time spent on campus that YVHS has been great for my children. They are in College and our last one is College bound. They are challenged in their classes and best of all, they are happy. We all like the diversity, the tolerance and acceptance at the high school. Is it a perfect school, no. There is no such thing. As adults, this racial tension and divide needs to stop. Yes, we live in Walnut Creek.
I have not researched this, but I do have a friend who is an Adult Ed regular - has been taking the same class for many years- and it is being cut. We need to all do our best to support our schools wherever we happen to live. I don't like the way the state gov't has backed away from schools. It seems the harder we work to subsidize them, the worse it gets. The most important thing here is our kids and their future - So, (sigh), I will support yet another parcel tax.
I am a Northgate parent and I do not believe the WCSD community is being greedy.
I think the Walnut Creek School District has proven to be good stewards of the taxpayer's money, they have provided a good education for their students, they communicate with parents and the community on a whole values education and supports it's community's children by funding education.
When we purchased our home in Walnut Creek we compared test scores and Northgate's scores were higher than Las Lomas at that time. As young parents we did not understand the impact of being part of the Mt. Diablo School District. We could not of known about the lack of communication, the lack of transparency, the willingness of the administration to continually divide its community, the inability to see what is wrong and the lack of willingness to do something about it.
Northgate is a good school despite this district. It has good leadership and a committed community. This Saturday you will find 500+ community members cleaning, repairing, painting, and landscaping the Northgate campus. Our school and it's feeder pattern schools have learned to fend for themselves. We do that for our children. We want a parcel tax and I agree with previous posts we would pay far more than you pay now to leave this district.
MDUSD has not proven to be good stewards of the taxpayers money. 71% of the overall MDUSD community and 81% of the parent community do not trust MDUSD to be financially responsible. Well over 50% believe their children are not being served by the district. The unwillingness to pass a parcel tax in MDUSD today is complicated and multifaceted. I can assure you it is not because the Northgate community doesn't value education or lacks the insight to support a local funding measure.
Our communities have a lot in common. The thought of a united Walnut Creek School District is appealing on many levels beyond those mentioned above.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_14745313?source=most_viewed
Looks like the MDUSD decided to postpone their vote on the non-teaching positions.
(I hope this link works- I am new to this- if not, maybe someone more savvy than myself can do it!)
Also, put my name on this one- tired of all the "Anon" stuff, which started out as a mistake on my part as well (again, new).
I worked for md for 21 years and It too big. THe nepotism there and the silly way of thinking and operating would make the taxpayers cry with despair. I still shake my head with dismay. The right hand slaps with left== naughty naughty. Noone is responsible
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