Las Virgenes School District

Community chips in to help rescind teacher pink slips

Most teacher jobs in the Las Virgenes Unified School District that were on the chopping block due to severe budget cuts have been saved, but not because the state came to the rescue.

Parents, businesses, cities— even the water district—pulled together to raise funds which allowed district officials to rescind 43 of the 50 pink slip notices issued to teachers on March 15.

Superintendent Donald Zimring said the community came together in an “unprecedented effort” in response to California’s fiscal crisis.

The Las Virgenes community— including foundations, businesses, government agencies, parents, teachers and even students—generated more than $1.1 million in new revenue and cost savings to keep jobs and programs intact, at least for now.

“We took a leap of faith,” Zimring said regarding the school district’s new financial picture. He said 38 elementary as well as one full- and one halftime high school social studies teacher jobs were saved due to the collaborative effort. Some secondary school counselor jobs also were saved.

The district launched a Save Our Schools (SOS) campaign in February with hopes of raising $1 million by the end of March.

Karen Kimmel, LVUSD’s chief business official, said the campaign yielded about $358,000 in pledges by residents and another $800,000 through other creative methods.

The Las Virgenes Educators Association devised a retirement incentive program that saved $236,000, and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District redirected $88,500 from a variety of educational programs to save the fourthand fifth-grade science program.

The City of Westlake Village gave $50,000 and Hidden Hills $7,000 to the school district.

In other moves, a second preschool site was leased at $66,000 while special education legal cost-savings returned $100,000. County mental health services contributed $250,000. In all, the district raised or saved $1,155,500.

“The amount of money that has come to us from the state has decreased so much we’ve been forced to get creative and ask the community for help,” said Craig Hochhaus, co-president of the teachers’ union with Sandra Pope.

“We are working at the state level to encourage the state government to increase what they pay us up to levels that they were paying a couple of years ago.”

Hochhaus said the community “saved the day” through the SOS campaign.

Las Virgenes School District donations 2011 | EwingSIR | Calabasas ...

A $10 million cut to annual funding has left Las Virgenes school teachers without jobs. As a district that continually posts the highest Academic Achievement in the state with over 90% of student going to college, it is imperative that we donate to this cause. With the help of parents and staff volunteers, the LVUSD has united to raise $330,202 as of May 5th. Although it may sound like a substantial amount of money, the district needs at least $1 million to protect the educational programs and teachers that we’ve come to rely on.

Please help the LVUSD by making a tax-deductible donation to the Save Our Schools Fund . If you would like to make a donation to the Save Our Schools Fund by check, click here . The completed form, along with a check made payable to LVUSD Save Our Schools, should be mailed to 4111 N. Las Virgenes Rd., Calabasas, CA  91302.

American public school law

Future district organization, Las Virgenes Union School District

Los Angeles Magazine

Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 16, October 13, 2000 to October 24, 2000

Las Virgenes Unified School District third grade science