VENTURA : School Board Votes to Cut 12 Positions

The Ventura Unified School Board voted Tuesday night to eliminate a dozen positions to save the school district money, but decided to reconsider the fate of three administrative positions intially targeted for elimination.

The district originally planned to cut 15 positions to help balance its budget, which is projected to have a $1.2-million shortfall next year.

But the proposal, advanced by the superintendent, ran into resistance from parents and students protesting the reassignment of one popular vice principal at Ventura High School.

David Myers, vice principal for student services, oversees all student activities and government, athletics and campus discipline. The superintendent wanted to divide Myers’ duties among three other vice principals remaining on campus.

“Dave Myers is the glue that holds Ventura High School together,” Bill Hicks, a parent and Ventura business owner, said.

Nearly all of the parents and students attending the meeting came to lobby the board to keep Myers at Ventura High.

To appease the protesters, the school board decided to amend its proposal to keep Myers at Ventura High, another vice principal at Buena High School and a personnel worker at the district’s central office.

The measure, as redrafted, will result in three layoffs, two retirements and a transfer of the remaining seven employees to other jobs in the school district. The board said it will reconsider the three other positions at its next board meeting.

The district projects a $1.2-million shortfall in its $58-million budget for 1990-91 because of a lack of state funding.

The proposal will also reduce school services to save $485,000. Among the services targeted are continuation and independent study programs, audiovisual resources and staff-training workshops. The proposal also will freeze purchases of new testing materials and reduce overtime pay for clerical and maintenance staff, according to district officials.