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Finally some good news.
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Board votes $2 million to rehire teachers, $2 million for obligations. Places $2.2 million in contingency fund.
Reynolds board votes to spend added millions now, rehire teachers
by Betsy Hammond
The Oregonian, Thursday Aug 13, 2009
A unanimous Reynolds school board voted (tonight) to spend $2 milllion to immediately hire back laid-off teachers in order to reduce class sizes before school starts Sept. 8.
A standing-room-only crowd of teachers and parents applauded loudly.
Many had testified that students would suffer from a lack of attention and individualized instruction if the district stuck to its earlier plans to eliminate one of every four teaching positions and raise class sizes to 35 or larger at most grade levels.
Board member Valerie Tewksbury urged the board to choose reducing class sizes over putting the money into savings or spending it for other purposes, including adding back music, art and PE teachers, which have been pulled from Reynolds elementary schools.
The new smaller classes the board agreed to pay for will give schools one teacher for every 27 students in the primary grades and one for every 30 students in grades three and higher.
The district faced tough budget challenges this year as a result of past overspending. New Superintendent Robert Fisher urged the board to budget conservatively.
In June, the board adopted a budget that required laying off more than 100 teachers, far more than in any other Portland-area district.
This month, Fisher said the district would receive $6.2 million more from the state than he included in that budget. But he suggested the board put most of the added money in reserves and spend $2 million after Oct. 1.
After hearing from parents and teachers that the autumn was too late, the board chose another path. The superintendent said rehirings would start right away.
The board voted to spend an additional $2 million to provide pay raises for teacher's assistants, secretaries and other classified staff and to give "step" increases to teacheers for additional degrees or years of experience.
The panel put the final $2 million into reserves to position the district for an even tougher budget time that could come next year.
For additional details see this Gresham Outlook story. Editor.
