Superintendent Jim Gibson announced Friday that the Castaic Union School District has scheduled one furlough day for all employees during the 2009-10 school year and three furlough days in the upcoming 2010-11 school year. The furlough days were approved by the district's Board of Trustees at their February 18 meeting and will not only reduce the number of instructional days for all Castaic students, but will result in a .54 percent salary cut for most employees this year, with a 1.62 percent salary cut in store for the 2010-11 school year.

The Castaic Union School District has effectively weathered the state's budget crisis up to this point, avoiding teacher lay-offs and applying minimal cuts as a result of prudent economic decisions by its administrative staff and Board of Trustees.

However, California's K-12 education budget continues to decline with the Governor currently proposing a 2010-11 budget that will reduce education spending by an additional $1.7 billion. If approved, this will translate into a 4.3 million dollar loss for the Castaic Union School District from 2007 through the end of the 2010-11 school year.

The district has already employed many cost-saving measures such as increasing class size, cutbacks in transportation, reductions in the purchase of text and library books, and the elimination of summer school and other intervention programs. The recently-approved furlough days are being implemented in hopes of avoiding future teacher lay-offs and further cuts to crucial programs. CUSD's furlough days are scheduled for May 13, November 12, November 22 and November 23, 2010.

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