Jurupa school district retains teacher jobs

Federal stimulus dollars and voluntary teacher retirements will allow the Jurupa Unified Education Area to retain 79.1 teacher positions targeted for layoffs earlier this 12 months, a district official mentioned Tuesday.

Pam Lauzon, the district's assistant superintendent for company providers, stated 77 on the teachers returning for that 2010-2011 institution year are elementary university instructors. That could allow the district to retain the K-3 class-size reduction program.

"It's a area model of class-size reduction," Lauzon says.

The district's board of education had voted in October to scrap the state program -- which caps the dimension of the type at 20 students -- because it struggled to close a multimillion-dollar spending budget gap tied to California's fiscal crisis.

The area edition of it will hold course sizes to 25 students per type in grades kindergarten by means of third grade.

The other 2.1 teacher positions will replace agriculture teachers who are either leaving or transferring.

News in regards to the returning teachers can be a bright spot in what has otherwise been a grim budgetary procedure.

"Being in a position save some jobs is really crucial," mentioned board member Mary Burns. "But we're nevertheless losing incredibly valuable teachers and we know it."

Over the past institution yr, the district has shortened the 2010-2011 education calendar year by five days, approved bigger course sizes in middle and high colleges, consolidated the ROTC program on a single campus and elevated guidance coordinator caseloads.

The board also had approved sending layoff notices to 113.6 teachers.

Lauzon stated 47 elementary institution teachers are getting brought back and will be paid out by $1 million the area received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Lauzon stated yet another three teachers will probably be paid out with Title 1 federal funds earmarked for use in schools in economically disadvantaged communities.

Forty-nine teachers whatsoever levels accepted the district's early retirement package and that allowed the area to retain the remaining 27 teachers targeted for layoffs, Lauzon stated.


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