Rulffes says school layoffs likely

The Clark County School District will most likely have to lay off hundreds of employees to close a $125 million hole in its budget, according to a memo from Superintendent Walt Rulffes obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Because the district is under a state-mandated deadline to approve a budget for the new fiscal year by April 15, Rulffes doubts the district has time to negotiate terms with employee unions that would minimize layoffs.

He also said he is "wary that agreement can be reached via the collective bargaining process in time to do a (reduction in force) in a legally and orderly way."

According to earlier estimates, the district might have to lay off as many as 1,300 employees, including 540 teachers and as many as 130 administrators. Rulffes was in Carson City on Thursday and did not attend the School Board meeting.

School Board members pleaded with district employees to think of schoolchildren first and come together in a spirit of "shared sacrifice."

"Don't let us become divided, or we won't make it through tough times," School Board member Sheila Moulton said.

Rulffes said a reduction in force is the only legal means for the district to close its budget gap because it cannot break union contracts. The district is negotiating with all four of its employee unions, which represent teachers, administrators, support staff and school police officers.

Because of the seniority system in place for personnel, Rulffes said "thousands of employees" might have to go through a "bumping process."

Stephen Augspurger, executive director of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees, said he worries the district might lose experienced personnel if newer vice principals and deans lose their positions and are not permitted to return to jobs as classroom teachers.

Mike Thomas, president of the Police Officers Association for school police, said the district is disingenuous about following timelines because it has dragged out negotiations with his union since 2007.

Thomas also congratulated district general counsel Bill Hoffman for getting a controversial contract extension for himself "in one day." The police union has been in negotiations for more than three years.

Thomas blamed Hoffman for wasting taxpayers' dollars on litigation to contest a decision by the state Employee Management Relations Board, which ruled that school police officers are to be considered the same as other police officers and are entitled to the same kind of binding arbitration that city and county police officers get.

After Thursday's meeting, Hoffman said that he meant no disrespect to school police officers and that he is arguing a narrow legal interpretation only. Hoffman said the district is justified in contesting union demands because its officials want to increase the salary table for school police by "20 percent."

Bo Yealy, president of the Education Support Employees Association, said she found the March 8 memo between Rulffes and School Board President Terri Janison "insulting."

"It's just not nice to talk behind our backs," Yealy said.

The district cut 843 support staff jobs last year. Yealy said her union members are the employees who are bearing all of the pain.

Many district employees and union leaders were visibly upset by the news. But Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association, kept calm.

"This is all based on what-ifs," Murillo said. "They are just planning on worst-case scenarios."

Rulffes did acknowledge the possibility of rehiring employees if the district could find other savings and eventually reaches agreements with its unions. Rulffes plans to brief School Board members on the planned reduction in force at a special March 26 meeting.

"It's new because we have never seen anything like this before," Murillo said. "But it happens in California all the time."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.