Does district need third teacher on assignment?

Schools are receiving more money, and elected trustees are helping to decide how to spend some of it.

Gov. Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula puts more fiscal decision-making in the hands of trustees. While most of the money goes to employee salaries, health benefits and pension contributions, trustees have more to say about how to spend what’s left than they did in the past.

In the past two years Ramona Unified School District has received more money due to Common Core, temporary tax increases and an improved economy. The district gave employees their first across-the-board wage increase in seven years, spent money on much-needed deferred maintenance, reduced some class sizes and added employees.

Two of those employees are what the district calls teachers on assignment, a nebulous term to one unfamiliar with district terminology. Teachers on assignment work in the district office, fall under the Education Services Department, and receive a 7 percent stipend in addition to their salary. The two teachers on assignment for the past two years have focused on research and training to implement the state’s Common Core academic standards and on professional development for teachers and other district employees. All reports are the two have done an outstanding job.

Education Services is recommending trustees approve a third teacher on assignment at their Aug. 20 meeting. This would restore the three teacher-on-assignment jobs in Education Services before the Great Recession that started in mid-2007. The person would help the district achieve the trustees’ six goals and provide teachers and administrators with additional support to English learners, low-income students, foster youth and the homeless, the recommendation states. Money for the new job is part of the supplemental funding the district receives for the aforementioned groups.

The majority of teachers asked about this recommendation said they’d rather see the money go to reduce class size. While one person’s salary won’t make a dent districtwide, it may make a difference at one school.

Another suggestion was to restore music and/or art at the elementary level. If, for example, a music teacher were hired, his or her time could be split among schools. There may be other ideas that have yet to be discussed to assist those students the state has identified as needing additional support.

As student enrollment grew in Ramona Unified from the late 1980s through about 2001, adding employees in the district office made sense. As enrollment declined about 1,680 students in the past 13 years, it made sense to reduce staff. With the economic recession, it became a necessity.

According to the district, teachers on assignment cost about $100,000 each. District administration believes the best use of another estimated $100,000 is to hire a third teacher on assignment.

This is an opportunity for our elected representatives on the school board to decide if the district should, a step at a time, return to an administration the size it was before the economic downturn and enrollment decline, or if they have a different vision. We encourage the trustees to consider all the options before deciding whether they agree or disagree with the administration’s recommendation.

What’s best for the students who will start another school year on Monday?