"I am very pleased to be able to recall 57 of our teachers," said Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson. "Our teachers are at the very heart of our success, so our first priority when funds become available is to restore teaching positions. As we had hoped, increased enrollment, recent clarity from the state about stimulus funding and savings from the hiring freeze implemented last December combine to give the district the flexibility to restore approximately 35.6 percent of the teaching positions previously deemed necessary to RIF."

The determination of which additional positions to fund has been based on enrollment data and the program needs in schools. The recall of teachers who were RIF'd will proceed according to the contract with the Seattle Education Association (SEA) - by seniority within category. The district will match the category of positions funded at our schools with the most senior teacher on the RIF list in that category.

The approved Operating Budget includes a General Fund appropriation of $558,302,422; a Transportation Vehicle Fund appropriation of $15,301; an Associated Student Body Fund appropriation of $4,812,205; and a Debt Service Fund appropriation of $86,521,224. The approved Capital Fund appropriation is $250,254,312.

Chief Financial and Operating Officer Don Kennedy presented an update of the 2009-10 Operating and Capital Budgets at the Board meeting.

An analysis of the key elements of the District budget presented to the School Board on June 17 includes the current budget by function; an overview of funding for this year and next; trends and uses for District reserves; information on staff displacements and Reduction in Force; and a look ahead at funding for the next two years. Unprecedented cuts in state funding meant that Seattle Public Schools had to make many painful decisions to close a $34 million shortfall for the coming school year, including:

* Making tough choices on school closures that will result in nearly $50 million in savings over the next five years;
* Freezing cost-of-living adjustments for District staff;
* Reducing jobs at the District headquarters;
* Maintaining a hiring freeze;
* Drawing on a portion of our reserves, our savings account, to fund operations; and
* Increasing efficiencies in transportation and nutrition services.

Yet even all of these steps could not prevent a number of teacher, other certificated staff and classified staff layoffs. Because, retaining and attracting the best talent is key to ensuring that every student receives excellent instruction, it was agreed in the last contract negotiation to bring teachers' salaries in line with the top five regional districts. The District fulfilled that obligation by giving teachers a raise last year that averaged 14 percent.

It is hard to lose wonderful teachers and other staff. However, Seattle Public Schools simply cannot afford to retain all the certificated staff currently employed by the District. Although the District hopes to continue to recall as many teachers as possible over the summer, the rate of retirements is less than usual this year.

This Staffing FAQ provides answers to many of the questions you may have about staffing reductions.