Sixty-five educators fell in the Monday Night Massacre.

The Lawrence school board unanimously adopted a resolution that set in motion elimination of jobs for 65 educators. The board’s justification was anticipation of a severe financial crunch in the 2002-2003 school year that could require up to $4.5 million in spending cuts and fee increases to balance the budget.

School Board vice-president Scott Morgan reads a motion of non renewal for 65 teachers in the district.

“This is the worst budget scenario since World War II,” said Mary Rodriguez, the district’s executive director of human resources. “It’s a gut-wrenching situation that we find ourselves in.”

Board Vice President Scott Morgan found the process of formally acting on the resolution so distasteful that he couldn’t bring himself to read aloud at the board meeting a list of dismissed teachers, nurses and counselors.

“This list is full of shames,” he said.

By state law, letters must be sent to all 65 educators by May 1 notifying each that a “reduction in force” prompted the district to not renew their contracts.

That means classes will likely resume next August without Prairie Park fifth-grade teacher Theresa Greer, West Junior High gym teacher Troy Stein, Kennedy nurse Angela Blair, Free State business teacher Kathleen Connelly, Sunflower sixth-grade teacher Amanda Isaacs, South Junior High counselor Shirley Werholtz, New York first-grade teacher Leslie Winter and all the others.

Only seniority kept the board’s staffing knife from digging deeper into the district’s ranks of 900 certified educators. Nontenured educators were targeted in the layoffs.

Board members seized the moment to point a finger at the Kansas Legislature, claiming misguided lawmakers had created a school funding crisis that left school boards no choice but to eliminate educators.

“The Legislature put us in this hole and is leaving us there,” said Austin Turney, a board member.

Supt. Randy Weseman said he had walked in the shoes of the 65 Lawrence teachers. In 1978, a budget shortfall led the school board to eliminate his job.

	Comment about the school budget online

“I share the emotion of the people who are on this list,” he said. “I tell people to keep the faith. A job did open up in the district two months later.”

Indeed, there is a possibility about 10 teachers could be rehired with funding from a federal grant. If the 2002 Legislature adopts a budget in May or June that improves appropriations to school districts, money might be available to return others to the district’s workforce.

The 2002 Legislature’s indecision on school funding has prompted districts to make staffing decisions before knowing how much money they’ll have for payroll.

“It’s going to leave us hanging and leave all those employees hanging for another month,” said Sue Morgan, board president.

If the board didn’t act before May, the district would be obligated to retain all certified staff not receiving notification.

The problem is that money to pay their salaries might not be available, Rodriguez said.

The board’s resolution included elimination of “extra-duty pay” to more than 150 district staff for work assignments that go beyond their basic job description. Athletics coaches, drama teachers, pep band leaders, cheerleading assistants and student tutors were on that list.