CVHS teachers avoid dreaded pink slips

The Ides of March was the date that the great Julius Caesar would be slain. However, March 15 is also the day thousands of teachers in California receive pink slips.

This year, 19,000 teachers and educators have received pink slips but the California Teacher Association estimates that the actual number will surpass 20,000. The incredible losses in numbers looks a little like this: the union’s early estimate includes almost 500 school employees in San Francisco, 540 in Oakland, nearly 900 in San Diego and about 5,000 in Los Angeles.

Why? Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are negotiating the state’s nearly $27 billion budget shortfall. Brown planned to ask voters to extend temporary increases in the sales, personal income and vehicle taxes for five years. So far he’s failed to convince the state legislature to allow the vote.

However, as the saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” and there certainly is one here at CVHS.

Dr. Sherri Beetz Assistant Superintendent and also the director of Human Resources spoke about  comforting news about next year’s potential staff members here at CVHS.

“We are not cutting any programs for next year so we are not laying off any employees due to program or budget cuts. However, I did notice six teachers that may be at risk for release due to the uncertainty of current employees that were on leave this year. I am hopeful that all, or most, of these individuals that were noticed, will be rehired due to attrition. No one from CVHS was notified. The six teachers that I referenced above are all elementary teachers,” stated Beetz.

CVHS may not be able to provide the students and staff the luxurious food or breaks but they can and do provide the necessities. The teachers toil through hours of work to provide for the students. Even through harsh and tense moments such as National Pink Slip Day, the CVHS staff has always been able to provide their students with education.

Jason Yu, a junior and also a member of the symphonic band here at CVHS, spoke about the commitment of the music department’s teachers.

“Teachers, especially in the music department, evidently provide the best they can for their students. The reason they’re teaching and conducting the choir, band, or orchestra is because they want to share their passion of music to the younger and future generations even when they are constantly at risk of losing their jobs,” stated Yu.

At this time, students and staff are hoping that the proposals that will be introduced by Governor Brown and his team will soon alleviate the budget crisis in California.