Desert Sands Unified Approves 85 Layoffs

Facing the possibility of losing $9 million from its yearly budget, board members with the Desert Sands Unified School District face another year of deciding which positions to cut, and where to do it.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, they voted to send layoff notices to 85 employees, including teachers, counselors and librarians.

The layoff list includes 33 elementary school teachers, 11 middle school teachers, 9 high school teachers, 4 foreign language teachers, 13 project teachers, 12 elementary counselors and three librarians.

According to the district, class sizes would grow for first through eighth graders, where as many as 33 students would be in a classroom with one teacher. Middle schools could see more than 40 per class.

KESQ.com tracked the same situation in both the Palm Springs Unified and Desert Sands Unified last year, where employees watched and waited for a March 15 deadline to receive a pink slip.

DSUSD’s business services director told News Channel 3 that the fate of any layoffs rests in the hands of the California legislature. If the governor’s proposed budget is passed, and voters approve a tax extension, there may not be any layoffs.