WESTSIDE VOTES TO CUT 43 TEACHERS LAYOFFS WILL COME AT END OF 2002-03 SCHOOL YEAR.

Byline: Marci Wormser Staff Writer

QUARTZ HILL - Grappling with deep cuts in state funding, Westside Union School District trustees have voted to lay off 43 teachers at the end of the 2002-03 school year.

The layoffs were proposed because salaries for Westside's 340 teachers account for most of the district's budget and officials estimated a savings of approximately $50,000 per teacher, said board member John Ward.

``We have to come up with (the money) somewhere,'' Ward said. ``The majority of the budget is for certificated salaries.''

The teachers must be notified of possible layoffs by March 15 under state law. Ward said he doesn't know whether the district will have to lay off nonteaching, or classified, employees, who have no state-mandated deadline for layoff notices.

The teachers could be hired back if enrollment growth by next year is sufficient, officials said.

Ward said he regretted having to vote to lay off teachers but noted that board members felt they had no choice because of budget constraints.

``I'm hopeful that any layoffs will be temporary,'' he said. ``We are a growth district. That puts us in a better position than the schools that are not growth.''

Ward said the teachers will be laid off according to seniority, with the last hires going first. Westside Union Teachers Association President Kim Collins said the 43 will be ones without full credentials.

``Part of me understands what they're doing,'' Collins said of the board's decision. ``They have to have a final budget to the county by the end of June. But (the cuts) affect classrooms. We have those students currently enrolled. Our enrollment grows every year, which means we're going to be needing those teachers who are currently working and we're going to be needing more.''

About 600 new students have enrolled this year in Westside schools, bringing in additional state funding, Ward said. The state requires a teacher for every 30 new students, he said.

The laid-off teachers must be given priority if the district hires new teachers, Collins said.

As the result of midyear budget cuts and Gov. Gray Davis' proposed cuts to education funding for next year, the district may need to cut some programs as well, Collins said. Late last year, the district imposed a hiring and spending freeze at its schools to make up for budget reductions.

The board vote also will eliminate or drastically reduce the district's elementary schools' music program, by eliminating the equivalent of two full-time music teaching positions, Ward said. The district's middle school music program will not be affected, he said. The elementary music teachers will be put back in regular classrooms.

``It could affect the band program drastically,'' Collins said.

The board has not voted to raise class sizes in lower grades, as the neighboring Palmdale School District has done.

Teachers have not been laid off at Westside schools in more than 20 years, Collins said. Last year, newly hired teachers were told they may not be hired back, but the board decided against any layoffs, she said.

Since the board's 4-0 vote Tuesday night, Collins said she has spoken to some concerned noncredentialed teachers who called her for advice.

``I told them to get their credentials and then they can come back to the district when they do rehiring,'' she said.