People say that the third time is a charm and after three attempts to rescind all pink slips, the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees finally rescinded all classified layoff notices at their special meeting on Friday.
Originally, a total of 55 pink slips were sent out to classified employees at the May 4 TUSD Board of Trustees meeting. The number of rescinded pink slips went from the “majority” being rescinded to 43 being rescinded and now all are rescinded as of Friday.
“After reviewing resignations and retirements, we have positions for all of them,” said TUSD Director of Human Resources Heidi Lawler. “They may have changes to their assignments but they will have a position.”
The 12 pink slips that were not going to be rescinded before Friday’s meeting were “due to a lack of work” and the slips targeted para-professionals in special education.
Five of those para-professionals work one-on-one with severely handicapped children and seven work with non-severe handicapped children for four hours or less per day, Lawler said.
Those 12 pink slips “due to lack of work” could have also been related to overstaffing issues or students moving out of the district or students not needing the one-on-one help, she said.
Trustees did lay off one bus driver/dispatcher at Friday’s meeting but rehired that person in a different position with fewer hours due to the school year switching from a year-around schedule to a traditional calendar year, Lawler said.
When all schools switched to the traditional calendar year for the first time in 2009/2010, the district accounted for all their savings but the transportation department was missed, said Sonny Da Marto, TUSD superintendent. To fix that mistake, the TUSD Board of Trustees also approved on Friday to reduce the work year for one dispatcher-school bus training officer, one bus driver/dispatcher and one secretary. Their work year will now run between 200 days and 220 days rather than 12 months.
To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.
