_{Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter}

Though a contractual stalemate between Del Norte Unified School District and the local teachers union appears to be thawing, staff and parents vented their ire to trustees for approving preliminary layoff notices more than a week ago.

One instructor, O’ Me-nok Learning Center fifth-grade teacher Chrystal Helton reminded the Board on Thursday that those pink slips were sent to library technicians and paraprofessionals — classified staff members — in addition to teachers.

Helton pointed out that the last week to issue those layoff notices disrupted “entire school communities.” Since no one had accepted her invitation last week to visit the K-6 school in Klamath, Helton brought her students’ voices to trustees, saying “I am their voice tonight.”

“I don’t want Miss Lilly to leave,” one first-grade student wrote. “She is my friend. We have a strong relationship.”

“She’s part of our school community and you’re taking her away from us,” a fifth grader wrote.

Helton said she collected input from roughly 12 of her students.

“…this is disrupting not just personal lives and their careers, it’s disrupting all of our school communities,” she said. “I as a parent would [have liked] to see a Plan B, C, D, and I didn’t see any of that. I saw 40 different positions being cut with no data to back up that that’s the right thing to do.”

The Board of Trustees approved a resolution at a special meeting March 4 to issue preliminary layoff notices to roughly 20 teachers. They also approved a similar resolution to issue pink slips to 15 paraprofessional I employees and more than five library services technicians.

DNUSD is following California law by notifying those employees by March 15 that they may not have a job for the 2025-26 school year, according to Human Resources Director Alyssa Obermeyer. Final layoff notices for certificated staff are issued by May 15.

On Thursday, while Assistant Superintendent of Business Jeff Napier told trustees that the district and Del Norte Teachers Association have a signed tentative agreement in place, DNTA President Amber Tiedeken-Cron focused on those potential layoffs.

“We spent the week supporting the staff you laid off,” she said. “Get your house in order. You can’t lay off that many people — what are we going to do with those kids?”

After being at an impasse in contract negotiations since December, the tentative agreement between the teacher’s union and DNUSD includes a one-time bonus of $2,000 to each certificated staff member as well as an increase in some stipends, Napier said. The agreement’s total cost to the school district is about $600,000, he told trustees.

District negotiators will reopen contract discussions with the California School Employees Association Great Northern 178 next week, Napier said. This comes after members with the classified staff union rejected a proposed tentative agreement in January.

In a Feb. 28 news release, DNUSD blamed the potential layoffs on an enrollment decline of about 450 students, which will result in a $6.2 million decrease in funding.

COVID-era dollars, such as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR) monies have also expired, the district stated. Those dollars paid for instructional support staff as well as librarians to try to slow learning loss as a result of the pandemic, but “were never intended to create permanent positions.”

The district also emphasized the need to re-establish historic student-to-teacher ratios of 24:1 for kindergarten through third grade, 32:1 for grades four through eight; and 35 to 1 for grades nine through 12.

Currently, all of DNUSD’s classes fall under those historic student-to-teacher ratios, Superintendent Jeff Harris said Thursday.

Despite that information, Cerena Gastineau, who teaches a second- and third-grade combination class at Mary Peacock Elementary School, said she was worried about larger class sizes and more combination classes arising out of the potential layoffs. She referred to a presentation early in Thursday’s meeting about Del Norte High School’s medical science club, saying that students don’t just decide to pursue a career in health care “in a vacuum.”

“It happens because of many years of good teaching and learning through the years,” she said. “Speaking as a combination class teacher, I’m doing my best but it’s not ideal. Please put that in your thoughts as you are considering making these layoff notices real.”

Carrie Crist, a sixth-grade teacher at Smith River School, said the school district rents, leases or owns several buildings in addition to its 11 campuses, including offices on Marshall Street and space in Washington Square.

Custodial and maintenance staff have received new uniforms with laundry service, she said, and DNUSD may be creating a new safety coordinator position with an $80,000 salary.

“It might come out of a different pocket, but it stinks,” she said of potential expenses she listed.

Kathryn Morris, whose child goes to Redwood School, said she’s been following DNUSD’s recent budget discussions. She urged trustees to ask more questions of the administrative staff who are compiling the budget, pointing out that they don’t appear to have all the comprehensive information they need.

Morris also spoke to a criticism that DNUSD is “top-heavy.” If the number of administrative staff is appropriate for a district of DNUSD’s size and is in line with best practices, the Board of Trustees should communicate that with the public, she said.

“If we do have the right amount of administrative staff, tell us why,” Morris said. “Clear, open communication on the matter could go a long way instead of what’s happening now.”

Board President Charlaine Mazzei agreed with Morris that she and her colleagues needed more information and data to clearly communicate with the public. She pointed out that the Board of Trustees had been concerned about potential budget cuts and the loss of those COVID-era dollars since at least 2023.

But, Mazzei took issue with Carrie Crist’s comments about the buildings she connected with DNUSD, saying that they are under the auspices of the County Office of Education. Those expenses are not district expenses, she said.

“I don’t want to make it a back-and-forth, but there are also a lot of people out in the public that are saying things and don’t have the facts to back it up and are calling people liars,” she said. “We’re going to have to work on getting that information out, but it’s not helpful to have people out there spreading rumors and misinformation.”

Abbie Crist, a trustee who represents Del Norte County District 5, spoke to the perception about the district being top heavy. Crist pointed to a total expenditure summary Director of Fiscal Services Greg Bowen included in his Second Interim Financial Report, saying it outlines how much the district spends in staff salaries.

According to Bowen’s breakdown, DNUSD spends about $3.6 million in management salaries, $14.9 million in classified staff salaries and $18.78 million in certificated staff salaries.

Bowen said about 4.75 percent of the district’s total expenditures go toward management salaries. Industry standard, he said, is about 8 percent.

“We are below industry standard,” Bowen said.

Crist’s colleague, Don McArthur, who represents Del Norte County District 1 on the Board of Trustees, mentioned staff reductions the district went through in 2010-11.

“There was a sentiment to cut administration, and some of that did happen,” he said. “And some very important work did not get done.”