Packed Modesto schools meeting halted

Fire chief: Crowd of 200 too large, discussion of cuts moved to Friday

By MERRILL BALASSONE
mbalassone@modbee.com

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They brought speeches, sported matching T-shirts and carried signs.

More than 200 teachers, principals, parents and classified staff from Modesto City Schools came prepared to tell the Board of Education what they thought of $12 million in proposed cuts that include eliminating junior high librarians, scaling back music programs and increasing kindergarten class sizes.

Then the Modesto Fire Department showed up.

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With the crowd well over the room's 165- person capacity, Tuesday night's meeting was shut down an hour after it began. Board members tried to steer people to the neighboring Pearson Elementary School's cafeteria, equipped with sound and video feeds.

Audience members weren't having it. They chanted at board members to reschedule the meeting in a larger facility. Cheers came when Battalion Chief Sean Slamon announced he had to shut down the meeting.

"I want you to know we are postponing the inevitable," board President Belinda Rolicheck said. "At some point in time, we're going to need to make these decisions."

School nurse Marlys Layne was among those who didn't budge from her seat. The proposals include cutting nurse positions to the tune of $320,000.

"We weren't moving," Layne said, standing with a group of colleagues after the meeting was adjourned. "We were ready to speak tonight. Every group here needs the solidarity."

Aaron Castro, president of the California School Employees Association's Modesto chapter, came to speak about 16 positions represented by his union that are at risk.

"They knew it was going to be a packed crowd," Castro said. "If they have a big facility, we can all stand together. We all need to stand together."

Budget OK due June 30

District officials said they planned to reschedule the meeting for Friday afternoon. The location hasn't been announced.

The district must approve its budget by June 30, even if a state budget is not adopted. The proposed cuts represent about 5 percent of the $270 million general fund budget, said chief business official Debbe Bailey.

Public schools around California were among the hardest hit Friday when state lawmakers approved $2 billion in cuts as the first steps to deal with a $14.5 billion deficit.

Lawmakers approved the cuts under Gov. Schwarzenegger's first fiscal emergency declaration, issued last month. Schwarzenegger has proposed 10 percent, across-the-board cuts, including more than $4 billion for education.

Bailey said Modesto City Schools has not recovered from cuts in the early 1990s, when the district was forced to cut its maintenance and custodial staff by half and made deep cuts to its transportation department. Bailey said this round of budget cut proposals most likely won't be the last for next year.

"They expect us to provide a Cadillac-level education, but they're not even giving us a Volkswagen budget anymore," Bailey said. "It's more like a skateboard."

Teacher of year expects layoff

Barney Hale, executive director of the Modesto Teachers Association, said 53 positions represented by his union are at risk, including junior high librarians, school nurses and kindergarten teachers.

By state law, schools must give temporary layoff notices to teachers by March 15. Lance Underwood, a music teacher at Roosevelt Junior High and a current Stanislaus County teacher of the year, said he is expecting to get one by next month.

Underwood sat with a group of music teachers after the board room had cleared, lamenting the $400,000 in proposed cuts to the district's music programs. As a supervisor of vocal programs for kindergarten- through eighth-graders, Underwood said he was disappointed not to be included in brain-storming sessions to create the list of possible cuts.

"I think they underestimate teachers," Underwood said. "We're creative people, we have to make things work all the time."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.