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Teacher of year gets pink slip: His layoff would mean end of Buellton’s music program

By Raiza Canelon/Staff Writer

If Ron Zell had a chance to go back in time and decide not to become a teacher, he wouldn’t take it.

The 20-year educator, who was Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year in 2007, feels that way even though he was tentatively laid off last week along with five other teachers in the Buellton Union School District.

Some or all of those six teachers could be re-hired for next school year if the district has enough money. That will depend largely on whether California voters approve a set of revenue-raising measures on a special election ballot in May

But if Zell doesn’t come back, neither will the music program at Buellton’s two elementary schools, because he teaches all the music classes at both Oak Valley and Jonata.

“The point I tried to make at the (March 11 school board) meeting is, why should the district have an excess amount of administration costs when the teaching staff is getting cut? Now more than ever, we need teachers. We are looking at incredible damages to the classroom by removing teachers,” Zell said.

President Julie Everett said that she and the other school board members had a tough decision to make at that meeting by cutting Zell and the music program along with the other teachers.

“I made that vote because I am confident the ballot measures will be approved in May, and we can bring back almost all of the teachers we gave notices to,” Everett said.

While the board was looking at places to make further cuts, she added, Zell’s program is the only one that the state does not require the district to fund.

“It was unfortunate to give him the pink slip, and we didn’t want to do it. We know how the students, parents and administration love him. Last year the board cut an administrative position to save Mr. Zell’s position,” Everett said.

Zell teaches about 500 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Jonata and Oak Valley elementary schools. Music is optional for sixth- through eighth-graders at Jonata Middle School.

Buellton Union Superintendent Tom Cooper said that he isn’t proud of the fact that the district had to cut teachers, but he is comforted that the district had to cut only three full-time teachers, as opposed to other districts in the county that had upwards of 30 people to cut.

“This is such a horrible time. Losing music is a big deal. I believe in the music programs and the arts for students, but this is a budgetary issue and is not because we have a lack of belief in music,” Cooper said.

As the district’s top administrator, Cooper has taken only one raise from the board since he was hired in 2002, Everett said. He has foregone his annual step and column raises and cost of living adjustments (COLA) for the last three years.

Cooper’s salary has also been 30 percent funded through the Special Education Consortium program since he took over as a teacher in the Special Education program, she added.

“Tom is keeping his wages down as low as he can to give back to teachers,” Everett said.

Business Manager Kathy English said that roughly 83 percent of the district’s $7.1 million budget goes to salaries for teachers and classified staff members. Of that 83 percent, 42 percent goes to teachers, 5 percent goes to certificated administration (the superintendent), and the rest goes to classified (non-teaching) staff.

According to the California Department of Education, the average percentage of administrator salaries in elementary school districts is 5.73 percent of the budget. Cooper’s five percent is actually lower because of the consortium contribution, English added.

To help avoid further layoffs, Cooper said, the district has suggested to the faculty a suspension in annual pay increases to save $170,000, and the teacher’s union is willing to talk about the suspension.

rcanelon@syvnews.com