S.M. Teachers Demand Superintendent's Resignation

A group of teachers from the San Mateo High School District will call for the immediate resignation or termination of Superintendent Sam Johnson and his associate superintendents, citing gross fiscal mismanagement, at the District's Board meeting Thursday night. The meeting will be held at The Smart Center, 789 E. Poplar Avenue, San Mateo, at 6:00 p.m.

The District has demanded increased accountability from teachers and students,? said Capuchino High School teacher and Teachers for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) spokesperson Steve Dwyer. Now it's time for the District administration to accept responsibility for the financial crisis that it has created.?

The District claims that it needs to cut $3.5 million in spending in order to submit a balanced budget to the County on September 29. They point to recent reductions in property tax revenues, and to unexpected takebacks by the County. At the heart of the District's proposal is a 3% wage reduction for teachers.

Dwyer noted that Basic Aid districts (those that get their funding primarily from property taxes) have known for years that property tax revenues were falling, and that takebacks were continuing. The Sequoia District implemented cutbacks last year and avoided costly new programs, and they are now solvent. In contrast, the San Mateo District ignored the recommendation of its own 7-Period-Day Committee and expanded the school day at a cost of $3.1 million over the last two years.?

They claim they were blindsided? by the most recent County takeback – $400,000-plus in July. But they knew well before that date that the District was facing a $3 million dollar shortfall. Even so, they continued to hire new staff well into August.?

Already, five special education teachers on temporary contracts have been laid off. The District warns that more temporary teachers will have to be let go if the teacher's association does not accept a pay cut.

Said Dwyer, The District got themselves into this mess, and now they want teachers and staff to face the consequences. But the superintendent and administrators need to be held accountable.?

More than 200 teachers and support staff will gather at the Board meeting on Thursday to protest District-proposed cuts and to urge the School Board to remove the current District administrators.

– Written by JC