In a move prompted by the resignation of high school social studies teacher Scott Battaglia, as well as a July 1 state deadline, the Carlton School Board laid off three teachers Tuesday night.
One tenured elementary school physical-education teacher was placed on "unrequested leave of absence," while the contracts of two probationary teachers at the high school were not renewed.
The cuts came on top of cuts made in March, when two elementary teachers and a business teacher got notice their contracts would not be renewed.
While community members protested that the district had promised not to make any more cuts until after the November referendum, Superintendent Peter Haapala said it was a matter of being fiscally responsible. The cuts will save the district an estimated $87,000.
There is a chance that one or all of the teachers will be offered part-time positions when the school year starts, he said Wednesday, but the layoffs give district administrators a chance to adjust the schedule and combine some sections of the same class.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We have 24 or 25 kids in the freshman class, and we have an opportunity here to combine sections, having one class instead of two," Haapala said.
The tenured teacher had requested a hearing after being notified of the pending layoff earlier in the year, but Haapala said that hearing request was canceled.
"Because of the timeline [a state-mandated deadline of July 1 for teacher layoffs], the board decided to move ahead," Haapala said.
The Carlton School District has been operating in emergency mode since June, when School Board members found a letter from the state giving the district until June 15 to have a plan to get out of statutory operating debt approved by the Minnesota Department of Education. Board members claimed they were never told by former Superintendent Scott Hoch that the previous plan had not been approved.
Because the district has been in statutory debt seven of the past eight years, Carlton must submit three plans - A, B and B-1 - to the state at least three weeks before an Aug. 31 deadline, and a plan C in early December.
Plan A must detail how much money a referendum proposed for November will ask for and what the district will do if the referendum passes. Plan B should detail what actions the district will take if the referendum fails. Plan B-1 will describe district actions (staff reductions, etc.) in case the referendum fails and student numbers go down. And Plan C is supposed to tell the state at what point the district will begin the process of dissolving itself or consolidating with another school district, and specifics where the students would go in that event.
If the district doesn't complete those tasks, the state would likely stop funding the district.
Haapala said attendance at the twice-weekly community meetings for referendum and debt relief planning has dropped off slightly, and the board is close to naming a number for the planned November referendum.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Board members asked for more information on where the amount would take the district in five years instead of three," Haapala said. "So we're planning to discuss that at Thursday's [July 1] meeting. ... Once we have that, we can look at the harder choices we have to make on the other plans."
A Carlton School District referendum vote failed in April of this year.
