<\/p>\n
The preschool class at Roosevelt High School.<\/p>\n
Fresno Unified School District<\/p>\n
Fresno Unified is closing 19 preschool classes at various locations due to a loss of $7 million in state funding.<\/p>\n
The closure is part of the 274 layoffs pending in Fresno Unified as the district faces a current deficit of $77 million and a projected deficit of $59 million for the following year.<\/p>\n
Ninteen preschool teachers, 21 resource counselors, along with preschool program managers, paraeducators, are among the certified and classified employees whose positions will be cut at the end of this school year, according to the layoff proposal district staff presented to the governing board Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said that our site will be closed, and that\u2019s basically it,\u201d said Valerie Velasquez, a paraeducator at Birney Elementary. \u201cThey did not say whether we\u2019ll be moved to somewhere else or if they\u2019re gonna lay us off completely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Castillo, Fresno Unified\u2019s chief academic officer, said the district previously received a fixed amount, approximately $24 million annually, in state funding for the preschool program. The state revised its funding distribution method to calculate allocations based on enrollment, which will result in a $7 million funding decrease for next school year, Castillo said.<\/p>\n
Castillo said the district eliminated classes with insufficient student enrollment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some places, we have maybe 10 kids in our class, and we can\u2019t afford it,\u201d Castillo said.<\/p>\n
The three-hour preschool program in Fresno Unified, which accepts children as young as 2 years and 9 months old, has expanded significantly over the past decade. Some secondary school sites also hold preschool classes, Castillo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re going back to some of the schools not having them, and we\u2019re trying to prioritize the elementary sites, because it makes sense to be at the elementary,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cSome of the secondary sites, like Duncan and others, are being closed for different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district does not rule out the possibility of reopening the preschool sites if enrollment increases, Castillo said.<\/p>\n
Districtwide, there are 1,600 kids currently attending preschools, said Marie Williams, Fresno Unified\u2019s instructional superintendent. No current students will be impacted by the closure, Castillo said, since transitional kindergarten has expanded to all 4-year-olds by this school year in California.<\/p>\n
Families residing in areas where preschools are closing should enroll their children in nearby preschools, district officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome schools, like Norseman Elementary and Erickson Elementary, are five blocks away, so we strategically did that so our families wouldn\u2019t have to be burdened with having to drive across town,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cThey just have to go a little farther to find the ones that are not closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eight of the 19 preschool teachers who are facing layoff are retiring, according to Williams. The district is trying to reassign the 11 teachers to other assignments.<\/p>\n
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