Earlier this year, the School Board granted approval to Superintendent Dr. Bill Myhr to move forward with a controversial staff Reduction In Force (RIF) of 26 district employees.

Given the $1.6 billion deficit in 2009 and possible $3 billion shortfall expected in 2010 for Arizona school funding, all districts cut costs and staff.

When RIFs were reluctantly carried out in mid-April, Myhr did so with a promise to reestablish as many positions as possible when a more concrete budget was available.

“We will act as soon as possible when we hear back from the legislature and hopefully bring back as many employees as possible,” Myhr said.

With the 2009-10 budget still unclear and no real number on which to base future enrollment, the district carried out a reduction of 26 employees, 13 of which were certified teaching positions.

According to the Arizona Education Association, some 7,000 teachers around the state fell victim to RIF.

Getting closer to the expected July deadline for a finalized budget, some local districts have already begun the work of re-hiring employees.

Scottsdale Unified is looking to bring back 130 of its 221 employees affected by RIF while Gilbert Public Schools has already welcomed back 130 of its 267.

According to Assistant Superintendent Tim Leedy, however, FHUSD is not yet ready to act on a still unclear budget.

A district’s staff largely depends on the number of students it services and no clear picture of the coming school year has yet been established.

Also, with the expected budget changing on a regular basis, Leedy said the district does not wish to offer jobs until solid figures are provided.

For many of those 26 affected by RIFs in FHUSD, this poses a dilemma—look for work elsewhere, or wait it out and see what develops.

Ivy Tolis, for one, plans to wait it out.

“It is sad to see children are directly affected by these cuts,” Tolis said. “Class sizes will be larger, less money will be spent per child, etc. I wish there were another way spending could be allocated.

“I know funds are set for certain things, but in these tough times, it would be nice if money could be reallocated to where the need is.”

Tolis was a kindergarten teacher at McDowell Mountain Elementary School for the past year and spent a year as the Special Education Resource teacher before that.

In Connecticut, Tolis taught in various positions and grades for seven years.

“My husband and I moved to Arizona in 2002,” Tolis said. “We looked at the schools and were impressed. We also have two boys in the schools and one in preschool.”

Tolis said she enjoys being a teacher because of the children, especially the “little things they say.”

“It brings tears to my eyes to see how much they have learned and to know I had a part of it,” Tolis said. “When you love what you do, I don’t think there is anything that is ‘difficult.’ There may be a challenge, but there is nothing I would consider difficult.”

Because Tolis is considered a first year teacher, she knew her job would be on the line when the magnitude of state budget cuts was revealed.

“I was hopeful that things would work out,” Tolis said. “I am hanging tight at the current time.

“I am hopeful the district will be creative in these hard times and will be able to figure out a way to rehire all the RIFed teachers. I believe in the Fountain Hills district…it is my hope I will be able to stay in town and teach.”

Curriculum specialist Lois McElligott was also affected by RIF.

“When I was first hired to facilitate the district’s science curriculum adoption, I realized there was no consistent system of reviewing and selecting new textbooks and no ongoing management of curriculum materials in place,” McElligott said.

“Larger districts have an entire curriculum department with many specialists assigned to only one or two subject areas.

“Being the only curriculum point person for our district challenges me to be creative and inventive in meeting our district, teacher and classroom needs.”

While McElligott does not teach in front of a class, her position has kept her very involved with the education of local youths.

She also manages the K-8 hands-on science materials out of the district Science Resource Center she established as well as organizes Family Science Night and gets other community organizations (Kiwanis gravity car project, Master Gardeners with McDowell Mountain) involved with local education.

McElligott said she loves the diversity of skills and knowledge her position requires, saying she’s always learning because of it.

McElligott also became involved with writing competitive grant applications, a project she hopes to broaden in the future by making her services available to all district teachers.

“In the current economic climate, tapping into grant opportunities may be the only way we will be able to fund some projects and programs,” McElligott said.

After 16 years of working within the district (11 as a science volunteer under the umbrella of the PTO), McElligott said she’s upset to see a continued lack of funding at the state level.

“It continues to show the lack of commitment the state Legislature has in supporting public education in Arizona,” McElligott said.

“It’s frustrating knowing we have to make these cuts based on available state funding, but also knowing we have very few areas we can afford to cut.”

While half of those affected by RIF are local educators, the other half fill positions like McElligott’s, helping ensure the continued success of FHUSD.

An accomplished musician, McElligott joked she might have to start developing her skills as a bar pianist. Still, like many local educators, she said she’s waiting to see what happens next with the budget.

“My preference is to stay with the district,” McElligott said.

From parents to students to co-workers, local educators have found support in these trying times as everyone hopes for the best. Tolis, for one, said she greatly appreciates the efforts of her students’ parents and their kind words.

Middle school teacher Matt Keating was the subject of a 100-name petition signed by students wishing to see him working within the district because he made students “want to learn” and “made history fun.”

While RIFs were unavoidable and it is unlikely to see 100 percent of those affected return to the district, McElligott said there may be a lesson to learn in all of this.

“There is always benefit in stopping to analyze what we are doing and take a look at whether we are achieving our mission,” McElligott said.

“I would have liked to have seen an evaluative benefit/loss process in deciding the personnel cuts as well as some creative thinking as to how we could do things differently. Hopefully some of that has been going on.”

Tolis agreed.

“It’s sad, but some of us are looking upon new chapters in our life stories,” Tolis said. “There are good times and bad. I think we learn more life lessons from the times where we have difficult decisions to make.

“We will all make it through these budget cuts with a new perspective and outlook on the future.”

Review: 
Economic series, Part One: Surviving financial fallout
Economic series, Part Two: Sanitary District
Economic series, Part Three: School District
Economic series, Part Four: Construction industry
Economic series, Part Five: Town surviving
Economic series, Part Seven: Stimulus money
Economic series, Part Eight: Food Bank
Economic series, Part Nine: Retailers
Economic series, Part Ten: Mayor impacted
Economic series, Part Eleven: Real Estate