Central Valley School District adopts new budget, may rehire laid off teachers if enrollment allows

The Central Valley School Board on Monday voted unanimously to adopt an over $259 million budget for the upcoming school year as the district adjusts to layoffs that were announced in the spring.

The district may hire back teachers from a group of 58 who were laid off last year, but they won’t know who or how many until the district has a clear vision on enrollment numbers in schools.

The budget, composed of revenue from state, federal and local levy funding sources, is mostly allocated toward paying staff. The district this year is budgeting salaries for 985 staff, a decrease of 91 from the previous fiscal year. No new staff hires were budgeted for this year. Staff is dependent on the number of enrolled students.

“I know that enrollment is a key to the budget, and we make our best guess about our enrollment; that’s what the budget is based on,” said school board member Teresa Landa. “Our staffing is based on how many kids we think we’re going to have.”

Gina Bullis, executive financial officer at the district, said the budget was based on conservative estimates of less than 1% increased student enrollment. The district won’t know actual enrollment numbers until October, allowing time for students to shuffle around schools.

With the sunset of federal COVID emergency funding last year, the district laid off 58 teachers across the district, according to Wally Watson, president of the Central Valley Education Association, the union representing teachers in the district.

Central Valley’s enrollment numbers fell after the pandemic, a trend reflected statewide. In the 2021-22 school year, when the district announced the contracts weren’t going to be renewed, Central Valley schools were at 98% of their pre-pandemic student population, according to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The following year enrollment reached 99% of the numbers before COVID. The lagging enrollment, which dictates state funding, wasn’t enough to afford the staff hired with the emergency funding.

“We knew we’d need to provide staffing for mental health and academics, so we were overstaffed,” district spokesperson Marla Nunberg said. “Basically, we had more staff per students than we usually do.”

The teachers whose contracts weren’t renewed were placed on a “call back list” for three years, as part of an understanding between the district administration and the union. As positions open at schools, the district will first turn to the teachers on the list and offer them positions based on seniority. Of the 58 teachers, the district has rehired eight.

“That’s our first call of business,” Watson said. “To get those people hired back.”

Watson said positions may open if staff members resign, and the district has had one resignation ahead of the school year.

Some of the laid-off teachers took extended substitute teaching positions in other schools. Some took permanent jobs at other districts. Some left education entirely. Until the school bell rings and class is in session, the district won’t know definitively how many students are enrolled. If numbers increase, state funding will increase and the district will hire sufficient staff.

“Hiring will not take place until we get butts in seats, I call it,” Watson said. “We’re not going to overhire, we’re going to wait until we see kids in chairs looking at us.”

To answer questions or address concerns about the budget, the district will host a community forum at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Central Valley High School at 821 S. Sullivan Road.