Historic state budget cuts are pummelling scores of South Sound teachers who were notified by Friday’s statewide deadline that they could lose their jobs next school year.

According to a News Tribune survey, at least 13 South Sound districts sent “reduction in force” notices to anywhere from a handful of their teachers to several dozen.

Puyallup and Peninsula could be especially hit hard. Puyallup notified 69 and Peninsula alerted 63 teachers, librarians, counselors or other staff members with a certificate that they likely won’t have a contract next year. Auburn sent 48 notices.

Smaller districts could lose teachers, too. Fife handed pink slips to 6 teachers. Yelm gave out 12 and Eatonville three.

A few districts don’t plan to lay off any teachers. Among them: Sumner, Dieringer and Tacoma, the state’s second-largest school district.

The Washington Education Association confirmed that at least 2,922 public school teachers had received layoff notices as of the Friday deadline, and expected the number to grow as it collected more information.

“This is the first time we’ve had widespread teacher layoffs in over 20 years in our state,” said Rich Wood, spokesman for the association, which represents 82,000 teachers, education support professionals and retired educators. “In a normal year, you might have a few here and there across the state. This is obviously a very different time.”

Locally, one of the most affected districts is Peninsula, where elementary classrooms face the most turnover and programs such as talented-and-gifted pullout classes are being cut. Parents have rallied to save their teachers, inquiring about everything from fundraisers to pay cuts.

Deep layoffs are a new experience in Puyallup, a district more accustomed to adding teachers to handle its burgeoning suburban population.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Margaret Langston, president of the Puyallup Education Association. “The teachers are very sad, even the ones who are staying. They’re sad to see these young, bright teachers having to walk away from their classes. Students are sad. Principals are sad to let these people go.

“It’s really devastating that the state does not do a better job of funding education.”

DEALING WITH BUDGET GAPS

Across the board, school districts are struggling to close budget gaps resulting mainly from drastic drops in state revenue. In the just-completed legislature, state lawmakers sliced about $800 million from K-12 education over the next two years as they struggled to fill an overall $9 billion shortfall.

Next school year, Puyallup will face its widest-ever gap: an estimated $15.7 million between anticipated revenues and expenses.

Falling enrollment, and the resulting decline in state per-pupil revenue, is contributing to some of the revenue problems in Puyallup, Bethel, Clover Park and many other districts. The 2,000-student White River district, which has overestimated its enrollment in East Pierce County the past two years, will account for 211 fewer students in next year’s budget, equating to $1.1 million, Superintendent Tom Lockyer said.

White River sent RIF notices to 34 teachers, counselors and administrators – 12 percent of its teaching and administrative staff.

The number of pink slips doesn’t tell the whole story.

Federal Way, for instance, distributed 11 RIF notices, but estimates it could lose the full-time equivalent of 49 certificated staff. Though some teachers will be laid off, the bulk of the reductions would come through retirement, resignation or transfer, according to district spokeswoman Diane Turner.

Likewise, Clover Park in Lakewood sent notices to 31 teachers and four administrators but expects to lose the equivalent of 54.4 positions.

And many districts are looking to reduce classified staff – bus drivers, food service workers, teacher aides and other support workers. The state’s May 15 deadline doesn’t apply to those non-certificated employees, however, so districts generally focus first on their instructional work force.

PARING DOWN COSTS

The districts that are sparing teachers will make reductions in other areas.

Tacoma will tap into reserves, use funds carried over from this year and spend federal stimulus dollars to close its nearly $21.5 million gap. An unexpected jump in enrollment helped this year’s budget picture, and the district projects student numbers will increase again next year. Still, it instituted a variety of measures this school year, such as a hiring freeze on nonessential positions, to gear up for a three-year cost-cutting plan.

“I don’t want anybody to walk away and say that Tacoma is fine,” Tacoma Superintendent Art Jarvis said at Thursday’s School Board meeting.

After three years, he said, “we will be in the tank if nobody has fixed the system.”

Many districts are laying off teachers on top of other cost-saving measures, such as:

 • Administrators taking salary cuts or freezes. Auburn administrators are taking four furlough days. Peninsula administrators are taking salary reductions of 1 percent to 5 percent.

 • Eliminating or reducing sports, especially at younger grade levels. Auburn is getting rid of elementary school athletics, and University Place is cutting seventh-grade sports. Some of Sumner high school and middle school sports will either combine teams or practices.

 • Eliminating all-day kindergarten or instituting tuition for the all-day program. Eatonville and Dieringer, which offered all-day kindergarten for free this year, propose charging tuition. Puyallup, which charges tuition for its all-day program, won’t offer it at all next fall.

 • Reducing transportation. Puyallup proposes to end busing for students living within one mile of their school. Numerous districts are cutting travel for athletics.

TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIO

With teachers leaving around the South Sound, some class size increases are inevitable.

Classes could grow by three to four students in University Place, Superintendent Patti Banks said. UP plans to reduce the full-time equivalent of 19.5 teaching, one nursing and five administrative positions.

In Puyallup, junior high and high school teachers fear they’ll see more classes stretch to 35 or 40 students, Langston said. Their contract doesn’t cap class sizes, but provides teachers with extra pay when classes exceed certain numbers.

“When you start getting into the low 30s, increments of five (more students) make huge differences in management, in workload,” she said. Langston and some others said school districts should use more of their reserves to keep staff.

Deputy superintendent Debra Aungst said Puyallup already plans to use $2.5 million from its reserves. To remain fiscally responsible, the School Board wants to follow its policy to maintain a balance amounting to 5 percent of its general fund budget. Not counting committed funds that are carried over, that’s about where it will finish the fiscal year, Aungst said.

Class sizes “may rise a smidgen,” she said, “but we’re not anticipating that.”

WHO GETS A PINK SLIP

State law requires districts to give certificated employees notice by May 15 if their contract won’t be renewed the following school year. Certificated employees include teachers, librarians, counselors, nurses and other professionals.

But contract language plays a big role, leading to wide swings between districts in who is laid off and the procedure for filling vacancies, said Wood, with the WEA.

Seniority within a district is often a factor, along with district needs to fill certain teaching positions such as special education.

With so many variables, districts differ in how broadly they send the RIF notices.

Willie Painter, spokesman for the Franklin Pierce School District, said there are two schools of thought: Send out the minimum number of notices in a conservative response to contract language and state law, or send out lots of notices and do some rehiring later.

If districts find more money or enroll more students than forecast between now and next fall, they often bring back staff members who received notices.

“You can always hire back, but you can’t RIF once May 15 passes,” said Puyallup spokeswoman Karen Hansen.

Even so, she and Painter said their districts were more surgical in how they decided which positions to cut, in an effort to minimize the impact of receiving a pink slip.

“Once you start the RIF process, it’s really demoralizing,” Hansen said. “We RIF the young teachers who are enthusiastic. Parents get upset because their teachers are upset.”

In the Spanaway area, the widespread issue of 220 notices on April 27 caused an unnecessary teacher panic, said Tom Cruver, president of the Bethel Education Association. Those fears weren’t quelled by the district’s initial assurances that not everyone would lose their jobs, he said.

“If you want to scare the heck out of people, threaten to fire one-fifth of the population,” he said Thursday. “I don’t care how you cut it, you send people a letter that says you’re not going to be hired again next year, that’s going to affect them.”

The fact that school district officials were able to offer so many teachers their jobs back – all but 31 – within three weeks shows that the initial number was excessive, Cruver said.

Bethel schools spokeswoman Krista Carlson said the district wanted to retain flexibility to transfer people to replace those who are actually laid off. Per contract regulations, the district must issue teachers a RIF notice if their employment will change in any of several ways, whether it’s a transfer, a reduction in hours or a layoff, Carlson said.

“Everyone has different certifications and you have to match people,” Carlson said. “We had to go that deep so we could move people and shift people accordingly.”

Of the 31 Bethel teachers still in limbo, Carlson said some may be rehired between now and April 2010 depending on attrition and other factors.

Staff writers Melissa Santos, Brent Champaco and Steve Maynard contributed to this report.

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694

debby.abe@thenewstribune.com

SCHOOL JOB CUTS SPREAD FAR AND WIDE

This chart shows the number of certificated employees notified that their contracts might not be renewed in the 2009-10 school year, an estimate of the actual number of jobs expected to be lost, and the estimated gap between revenues and expenses that must be closed to balance budgets.

District Notices sent Jobs actually cut Estimated budget shortfall

Auburn 48 71 $8.8 million

Bethel 31* 60 $10 million

Clover Park 35 54.4 $3.5 million

Dieringer 0 0 $805,781

Eatonville 3 3 $1.38 million

Federal Way 11 49 $7 million

Fife 6 11 $1.3 million

Franklin Pierce 8 13 $2.3 million

North Thurston 2 37 $4.8 million

Orting 3 8 $900,000

Peninsula 67 25 to 35 $5 million

Puyallup 69 107.6 $15.7 million

Steilacoom Did not respond

Sumner 0 17.6 $3 million

Tacoma 0 N/A $21.49 million

University Place 2 125.4 $2.5 million

White River 34 34 $4.5 million

Yelm 12 7 $1.7 million

* Bethel initially notified 220 teachers they might be laid off. Since then, one teacher resigned and the district offered contracts to 189. That leaves 31 who have yet to be recalled or laid off.