Coachella Valley Unified School District considering teacher layoffs

The Coachella Valley Unified School District may have to lay off more than 50 teachers in an effort to avoid bankruptcy.

The school board has approved the move as part of a fiscal recovery plan.

Due to several years of overspending that reached as much as $11 million a year, the school district is looking at a $10.7 million budget deficit that needs to be reduced in order to keep reserves at 3 percent of the district’s $180 million operating budget for 2014-2015.

By laying off 51 teachers as well as 17 other staff members and taking other cost saving measures, the fiscal recovery plan would save the school district $6.4 million.

While-the school district is exploring other options to reach the savings without issuing pink slips to teachers, after avoiding layoffs in recent years, there may be no other option.

“It’s never a good time to have to do this or even propose to do this, but you know we’re at a time where if we do it now the future is going to be a lot brighter financially for our district,” said Superintendent Darryl Adams.

If the Coachella Valley district opts to lay off teachers, it has until March 15 to notify them of their employment status.