Valentine’s Day was a somber event for the Denair Unified School District as it continued to process cuts for the 2013-14 school year.

Trustees voted to cut 14 high school teachers’ school hours, most for one period each.  The elimination of hours will save the district $457,356, equivalent of 7.24 fulltime slots for the 2013-14 school year.

“As board members, we understand that decisions that we make are going to affect a lot of people,” said board member Julian Wren.  “But we don’t have a lot of options left and we’re running out of time.”

The board also voted to layoff eight support staff including a high school and drama teacher and two K-8 teachers while cutting the hours of bilingual aides, computer techs and campus supervisors.  These cuts will save the district of $262,140 for the year.

In order for Denair to remain solvent, the district needs to cut $1.3 million of ongoing expenses.  The district has yet to negotiate cuts with the Denair Unified Teacher Association.  DUSD teachers were given a 3.5 percent salary cut in addition to eliminating four school days and one training day.

Trustees also voted to add Michelle Bush as interim principal at Denair Charter Academy for the remainder of the school year due to Karla Paul’s resignation at the last board meeting.  The board recently made the decision to convert Denair Charter to an alternative school for the 2013-14 school year.