School district trustees agreed Wednesday to layoffs to maintenance staff due to state budget cuts. Photo by: Jerry Budrick

The lives of 15 Amador County Unified School District employees and their families were radically changed by three quick votes of the ACUSD Board of Trustees at its Wednesday night meeting.

Faced with continuing budget woes, the trustees emerged from closed session with grim countenances that telegraphed their decision to proceed with layoffs of workers in three separate resolutions. The actions are expected to save the district $193,000 this year and as much as $930,000 next year.

As the first vote was taken, the 11 affected employees rose together to face their executioners. Five members of the group are upper level maintenance workers, journeymen in their specialties of electrical work, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC and painting.

At their Jan. 28 meeting, trustees discussed creation of new positions that could bring some workers back at reduced pay rates. Wednesday night, Superintendent Dick Glock addressed that possibility. "Just because someone gets a layoff doesn't mean that position is gone," he said.

All are members of Chapter 239 of the California State Employees Association union and rumblings of further action by the union have been heard from various sources. Negotiations with the union, which included a voluntary furlough proposal by the union membership, were not sufficiently fruitful to prevent the layoffs.

The second and third votes were summary, laying off the district's purchasing technician, an administrative assistant and two managerial transportation employees. All votes were six ayes to one nay, from Trustee Pat Miller.

In his report to the trustees, Glock spoke of what may lie ahead.

"The future looks pretty grim," he said. "We had one bargaining unit that suffered some losses this evening. The next group that will be approached will be the teaching staff. Perhaps jobs can be saved through the retirement incentive process."

Board Chair Mary Walser quoted California School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Plotkin as saying, "The unthinkable has come upon us."

In a CSBA Webinar last month, Plotkin also said that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposals represent "the first net reduction in funding for the schools on a year-to-year basis at least since the Great Depression."

Other actions taken by the board were monetary movements aimed at covering cash flow issues and transferring money from one fund to another.

One resolution approved issuance of a Tax Revenue Anticipation Note.

A majority of school districts participate in the California School Cash Reserve Program, which is sponsored by the California School Boards Association Finance Corporation.

By approving the resolution, the district will be able to borrow $5 million through a TRAN, based upon expectations that the state will be passing tax revenues to the counties in the future.

The evening's last resolution approved the concept of transferring money between funds. Funds involved in this transfer arrangement are adult education, deferred maintenance, capital facilities-developer fees, the district's school facilities fund and special reserve for capital outlay.

As the evening's only bright notes, Rachel Jenkins and Tanner Scholtes received Block "A" Community Block Service awards and Debbie Dunn was publicly thanked for stepping up to preside over this year's Sober Grad.