Most teachers in Mid-Columbia to stay on job

Most Tri-City area school districts will be able to avoid teacher layoffs next academic year, even as deep budget cuts to K-12 education in the state are forcing them to make reductions in other areas.

The deadline for districts to notify certificated workers that they'll be out of work next year was Friday. Certificated employees include teachers, counselors and others who need a certificate to qualify for their jobs.

Two small districts in the Tri-City area have notified teachers they'll be laid off.

The Kennewick, Richland and Pasco districts are avoiding teacher layoffs through retirement and attrition. Prosser, Kiona-Benton City and Othello schools also aren't handing out pink slips to teachers.

"We're looking across the board at (other places) we can trim," said Gina Bullis, assistant superintendent in Othello. "We're tightening where we can."

State legislators recently agreed on a biennial budget that cuts about $800 million from K-12 education.

The Washington Education Association, which is the state teacher's union, reported Friday that at least 2,300 teachers across the state have received layoff notices as a result.

Teachers from Columbia-Burbank and Finley are among them.

The Finley district has sent out notice it's eliminating the equivalent of 6.4 full-time certificated positions that currently are filled. The state budget crisis combined with the district's declining enrollment means that money is especially tight, said Superintendent Suzanne Feeney.

The hope is that as the district closes in on its final budget for 2009-10 and learns exactly how much state and federal money it'll receive, some of those positions could be saved, she said.

Districts typically don't adopt their budgets for the coming school year until summer.

"There is so much that is unknown right now," Feeney said, adding she believes the district will get through the tough time.

"You just have to keep following the process and working toward making sure you have quality programs for students," she said.

The Columbia-Burbank district also recently announced that it was laying off four teachers because of the state budget cuts.

But officials there since have determined they'll be able to save one of those jobs, said Superintendent Lou Gates.

They've found some other places in their budget to save money, and it appears they won't lose some of the funding they expected to under the state budget, he said.

The state budget included a $60.3 million cut to levy equalization, which is given to "property poor" districts -- including many in the Mid-Columbia -- to help make up for low property valuations. But state law needed to be amended for the cut to be taken, and that didn't happen during the regular legislative session.

Plans for a special session to be called were scrapped last week.

It's still a difficult time for the districts, officials said.

In Burbank, "I think our core message is that we will continue to provide the best education possible for our students despite the challenging budgeting process," Gates said. "We're confident we have a good educational program and we'll maintain that."