Oceanside cuts 117 teaching jobs

By Bruce Lieberman, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 9, 2010 at 10:20 p.m.

OCEANSIDE — Feelings of frustration, anger and resignation hung heavy over the Oceanside school board meeting Tuesday as trustees eliminated 117 teaching positions.

The massive cuts in personnel are only part of $19 million in draconian cuts the Oceanside Unified School District has made to close a huge deficit projected for 2010-11. State budget cuts to education have forced districts across the state to slash their budgets. Oceanside Unified also has lost state revenue because of declining enrollment.

Numerous teachers urged the school board to look for alternatives to laying off so many teachers or seeking pay cuts to avoid them. Some said the district needs to take another look at cutting administrative staff. But Superintendent Larry Perondi said the administrators that the district has are needed.

“People say, ‘Don’t balance the budget on the backs of teachers,â€