Azusa school district approves teacher layoffs after superintendent gets raise

AZUSA, Calif. (KABC) -- District officials in Azusa on Saturday voted in favor of layoffs at a special school board meeting and local parents and teachers were in an uproar.

It was a full house at the meeting involving the Azusa Unified School District. At issue: job cuts in the district to help balance the budget.

Home economics teacher Angel Clenney was on a list of 14 positions to be eliminated.

"There are over 1,000 signatures of teachers, parents, students and community members concerned with this issue of this cut collected in one day," Clenney told the board.

Her students, along with parents and other faculty, made their case for keeping music and home economics teachers from losing their jobs.

"If you take the time to go around these classrooms, you'll see the effort that the students put into creating the clothes they make," shared Destiny Reese, a student at Azusa High School.

Last month, the superintendent received an 8 percent raise that was approved last year, the district said, before the governor's budget came out with less money for school. Many parents said they feel that's not money well spent.

"Let's put our best foot forward and go back and come up with a different plan that does not punish our students and teachers because you have over spent your means," Ron Tressel, a special education teacher.

The board voted to spare Clenney and another home economics teacher, but it eliminated 12 other positions in music, math, English, special education, technology, and two assistant principals.

A district spokesperson said the governor's budget proposal presented unforeseen challenges, but effort was made to make cuts as far away from staff and students in the classroom.