Budget Draft, Approval of Layoffs on District 196 School Board Agenda

The District 196 School Board is slated to hear a report on the district's preliminary 2012-13 budget on Monday, as well as approve layoff notices for 19 continuing contract teachers, listed as unrequested leaves of absence on the agenda.

The budget shows general fund expenditures are expected to exceeding revenue by about $6.7 million—at $301.5 million to $294.8 million—and all expenditures (including building construction, debt service and others) exceeding revenue by about $7.5 million.

The general fund balance is expected to be about $33.3 million.

Among consent agenda items is to approve layoffs of 19 teachers who have already passed their probationary period. Most were on the unrequested-leaves-of-absence list last year, too, but this year's list is a little shorter, district Director of Human Resources Tom Pederstuen told Patch in May.

The layoffs are the result of a change in middle school structure implemented last year, Pederstuen said in May, not of any budget cutting this year.

The board in April approved layoffs of 113 probationary teachers, which is standard procedure, Pederstuen said. Many will be hired back, he said.

"Our practice is to not renew everybody," he said in May.

The Star Tribune reported recently about layoffs of untenured teachers regionally. Read more about the trend here.

The board is scheduled to meet in a workshop at 5 p.m. Monday regarding the budget, and hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m., at in Apple Valley.