Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté found the perfect analogy for running a school district in California in the year 2010 — it’s like playing a game of “Whack-A-Mole” at the local arcade.

Knock one unsightly problem down with a rubber mallet, and it takes just mere seconds for another to appear in its place.

The latest hammer drop came Monday, March 15 when the Culver City Unified School District issued nine layoff notices to teachers within the district in an effort to help solve the ongoing budget crisis that is strangling schools throughout the state.

“Every year when there’s a budget crisis … unfortunately, we are required to adjust our staffing to reflect our budget and the needs of our district,” said Coté, the CCUSD superintendent. “It’s devastating. We have outstanding teachers. And to deliver those kinds of notices, it’s devastating on both sides.

“But we have no choice. It’s something that’s happening across the state, and it’s something we need to do.”

The original hope was that CCUSD would be able to avoid teacher layoffs altogether, instead trimming between $2 million and $4 million from its budget — a precise number unknown thanks to the moving target that has been the budget process taking place in Sacramento — through other forms of budget cuts. Already the CCUSD Board of Education has voted to eliminate or re-classify other positions and programs, and has stripped funding in areas such as adult education and athletics.

Also still prominent in the budget process is ongoing bargaining between the CCUSD administration and the unions representing certified and classified staff regarding furlough days, with another sit down scheduled for Monday, March 22. While various parties believe an agreement — which would save a projected $1 million per year — is imminent, the lack of an
iron-clad deal forced Coté and her staff to issue pink slips prior to a legally mandated March 15 deadline.

The nine positions are split among schools and courses of study, and while they do minimally touch upon core programs (English, social studies, science, math), they also include electives such as art and music at Culver City Middle School — two areas where the Board of Education has been unwilling to cut to this point, citing in part the passage of the Measure EE parcel tax last fall by Culver City voters.

“They’re in this horrible position of, they went out and asked people, please tax yourselves … and now they’re turning around and cutting, I want to say, most of the electives for Culver City Middle School,” said David Mielke, president of the Culver City Federation of Teachers. “They’ve got to make cuts, but I don’t think that’s going to play well in the community.”

While Coté sympathizes with that point of view, she stressed that the moves made Monday were simply the more acceptable of two really bad alternatives.

“We have to protect the core programs,” Cote said. “The core programs according to the state are our math, language arts, science and history or social studies. Those programs this year are packed.

“So when you look at which classes can be eliminated, while protecting the core programs for our students, you look at the elective programs. When push comes to shove, you have to make those hard decisions.”

When asked what solution the teachers union would offer in place of cutting elective courses, Mielke returned to a common talking point the past few months during budget negotiations.

“It’s got to be the district office,” Mielke said. “So far there has been one cut in district office administration.  … Our position is the people who should be doing without should be the people who don’t work at school sites.

“They’ve not really taken an axe to the district office. Our position is please cut over there first.”

Mielke went on to admit that, when it comes to cuts at the administrative level, he does not know where to start. He believes it’s a responsibility best suited for the district superintendent, the one person who knows exactly which personnel is essential and where the fat — if any — remains.

On that point — that it’s the superintendent’s call to find ways to keep that side of the house in order — Coté is in firm agreement. Where her thoughts differ is on the belief that CCUSD is top-heavy with administrators.

“There have been several cuts at the administrative level. It’s not necessarily seen at the school-site level,” said Coté, pointing to the elimination of a director of special projects position and demotion of an assistant superintendent position in charge of human resources to a director position. “There are fewer people here. There are empty offices all over the building. …

“I haven’t completed my re-organization of the central office, but I’m going to do it in a deliberate manner, and not just jump because people are upset with me and telling me to jump.”