The newly-elected San Diego City school board is delivering on its promise to make the district more responsive to local teachers. The trustees voted yesterday to bring back roughly 200 teaching positions that were cut last summer. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
Trustees Shiela Jackson, John Lee Evans and Richard Barrera formed a unified front in favor of reinstating 200 permanent teaching positions.
Those positions were the causalities of district budget cuts over the summer.
The trio believes the past board could have spared those jobs and cut more central office services.
The local teachers union poured roughly $400,000 into its own campaign to elect the three trustees.
Barrera says protecting teachers is the right thing to do.
Barrera:
I believe this budget was balanced the wrong way last year. What we're doing right now is correcting a mistake the prior board made. We're doing it not because its nice, but because its fair.
But the two remaining school trustees say recalling the positions could cost the district dearly.
District officials say midyear state budget cuts could translate into a loss of up to $40 million in state money for San Diego Unified.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
