(l-r) ETUSD Trustee John Fleming, laid-off English and drama teacher Kat Fair (working at the high school on a longterm substitute basis) and talented English teacher Yvette Heasley, all participated in the May 3 community brainstorm to help mountain schools. Heasley learned Friday a judge called her pink slip “illegal.”(l-r) ETUSD Trustee John Fleming, laid-off English and drama teacher Kat Fair (working at the high school on a longterm substitute basis) and talented English teacher Yvette Heasley, all participated in the May 3 community brainstorm to help mountain schools. Heasley learned Friday a judge called her pink slip “illegal.”
By Gary Meyer
An administrative law judge, on Friday, May 4 ordered El Tejon Unified School District to retain four teachers who were issued layoff notices in February, according to documents acquired by The Mountain Enterprise.
On February 1 and 8 the ETUSD Board of Trustees voted in favor of Superintendent Katie Kleier’s recommendation to reduce or discontinue numerous services at Frazier Mountain High School (FMHS) for school year 2012- 2013, including English, Agriculture, Art, Drama, Social Sciences, Technology and more. Eleven teachers were laid off in that vote, eight from FMHS.
Teachers Yvette Heasley, Shannon Norris, John Domke and William Shillig were issued layoff notices on February 15 and told that their services would not be required for the 2012-2013 school year, based on Kleier’s reasoning that since the services at the high school might be reduced or canceled, the teachers would not be needed.
The teachers secured a lawyer and requested a hearing to determine whether ETUSD had sufficient cause for laying them off.
In his five-page decision, Judge Samuel D. Reyes wrote that "Cause does not exist to terminate the services of [the teachers] because termination of the particular kinds of services they provide would reduce the district’s offerings below state-mandated levels."
He also wrote that because reduction or discontinuation of the above-mentioned subjects would cause services at the high school to fall below statemandated levels, the reduction or discontinuation of services cannot be made.
The district was required to deliver a copy of the judge’s decision to all four teachers no later than Monday, May 7. The district’s board of trustees is scheduled to vote Wednesday, May 9 whether to adopt the judge’s ruling or the superintendent’s proposal and return its written decision to the judge, verifying that the district will abide by the judge’s decision, or declare they will continue with the layoffs and risk a lawsuit.
Whichever decision they make, there are still seven more teachers who have been “pinked” for low seniority. Decisions about downsizing the district to reduce expenses while maintaining quality educational offerings are before the trustees over the next few months.
–Added reporting by Patric Hedlund
This is part of the May 11, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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