COMPTON : 70 Layoffs, Cut in School Executives’ Pay Ordered

The interim state administrator for the Compton schools has ordered a 7% pay cut for district administrators and the layoff of about 70 employees, including teachers, psychologists, nurses and counselors.

The cuts are needed to offset an estimated $8-million budget deficit in the Compton Unified School District, Administrator Stan Oswalt said at Tuesday’s school board meeting. He added that the cuts will fall well short of what is needed to put the district back into the black. Oswalt indicated that other employees could expect similar pay cuts.

The announcement, which generally reflected Oswalt’s earlier statements, came as no surprise to teachers and other workers, but they nonetheless reacted angrily, saying he was wrong to make them suffer the consequences of poor district management. “The teachers are not willing to take a salary reduction,” said Margie Garrett, president of the Compton teachers unit. “The amount he implied in his statement is ludicrous.”

The Compton school system came under state control earlier this month when the Legislature approved a $10.5-million emergency loan for the district.