Moses Lake classified staff rehired at union meeting

District laid off 69 and rehired 43 of those back

MOSES LAKE — A second meeting among the Public School Employees of Washington, Moses Lake School District administration and some of its classified employees Wednesday resulted in several job reassignments.

The reassignments come after the school district sent out letters in the last week to classified employees notifying them of layoffs in the district due to budget tightening.

Sixty-nine employees were laid off and 43 of those received their jobs back or were placed into another position, according to MLSD Human Resource Manager Patty Laughery.

While initial reports to the Herald in Wednesday's story stated 25 classified staff had been laid off, Laughery clarified that number reflects those who did not come to the union meetings or chose voluntarily to stay in the layoff pool.

Others sent a proxy stating their job requests.

"It was amazing how many got their old positions back," said MLSD Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Monte Redal.

There are four to five positions still available. Those were not able to be filled as they require bilingual skills.

A decrease in federal Title I monies and an increase in energy, gas, labor and benefit costs have required the district to tighten its budget and examine spending areas.

As classified staff left the meeting in which the Herald was not permitted, attendees gave feedback as to how they thought the layoff and rehire process went.

Victoria Fix is one of those who did not get her old position back, but was reassigned to a new position.

"I was lucky I had the opportunity to improve six and three quarter hours instead of six and a half per day," Fix said.

At number 65 on the seniority list, Fix has worked in the district since December 1995, the last couple of years at Frontier Middle School with special education and special needs students.

Next school year she will relocate to Chief Moses Middle School.

"My livelihood is only mine," Fix said. "I have only one income."

Fix felt the atmosphere at the meeting was calm with little to no employees appearing angered.

Para educator Ronda Ross who had worked at Moses Lake High School for a year and a half was not so lucky.

"I'm so far down on the seniority list that all the positions I wanted were just filled," Ross said as she left the meeting early. "I'm not angry, I'm frustrated."

Ross feels having less employees in the classroom will ultimately hurt students.

At the regularly scheduled board meeting Thursday evening, the school board approved cutting the daycare program at Columbia Basin Secondary School beginning next school year.

In an interview Friday morning Redal said the daycare program was costing the district $50,000 to maintain.

During the 2005-06 school year the program served anywhere from four to 10 students.

A concerned parent in attendance at Thursday's board meeting voiced her concern about the possibility of the daycare closing before the board made its decision.

"Why couldn't we have a meeting about this?" she said. "If we serve one kid, if we make one difference, isn't that worth it? That school was built on that daycare."

Discussion of whether to make cuts to the Birth to Three and preschool programs at Midway Learning Center also took place, however the board wants to wait until its next board meeting on June 29 to make any further decisions.

The Birth to Three and preschool programs, Redal said, were up for consideration because those programs cost extra in transportation and staffing.