TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Dozens of Panama-Buena Vista teachers and staff packed the district's Tuesday meeting to ask questions before the board approved layoff notices for 77 classroom teachers, five music teachers, and 11 others.

All of the district's 49 bus drivers and 18 custodians will get layoff notices -- although many will return after contract negotiations.

After the meeting, Superintendent Kip Hearron spoke about the enormity of the district's budget problems, and the pain of being forced to lay off teachers.

"You can't print my emotion in the paper when it comes to laying off employees -- they're people," said Hearron, who's grandchildren attend Panama schools.

None of the district's approximately 865 teachers were laid off last year.

During the meeting there was at times a high level of frustration in the audience.

"Why aren't they cutting support staff?" one audience member asked aloud.

"You have a district office to cut from," another said.

And: "Why was a new school built?"

Board member Cathy J. Brown explained there wasn't a choice. "If we had any way not to cut an employee, we'd do it," she said.

After the meeting, special education teacher Cheri Smith wondered how other districts were getting by without such drastic cuts.

"How could we have gone from being the richest district, to nothing?" Smith asked.

"Why us?" she said, questioning whether any decisions were made that teachers didn't know about.

In response to a question about the level of communication between the district and teachers, Hearron said his door is always open and he would talk with anybody.

The board approved Hearron's request that his salary -- $159,134, or twice the total of the highest paid teacher in the district -- not be increased by 5 percent next year as called for in his contract.

The district's transportation policy will change to three different start times for schools, in an effort to maximize bus service efficiency.

After the meeting, third-grade teacher Carol Gann said she was proud of Hearron for taking a pay cut.

Gann said she was frustrated the teachers union couldn't re-open negotiations to save teacher positions.

Her class sizes will increase next year, from 20 to as high as 26.

But, Gann said, "a good teacher will be a good teacher no matter how many students they have."

The enormity of these budget reductions are new to the Panama district, which has experienced enrollment growth until this year.

Hearron said he expects the district will be in a worse position financially after the May 19 proposition vote and the budget revision.

"We haven't gone through this before, and I'm not sure we have all the right answers, that we know how to do it so there is no harm done," Hearron said.