East Bay school district proposes eliminating 70 teaching positions

SAN LORENZO, Calif. - The San Lorenzo Board of Education is meeting Tuesday night to discuss a plan to eliminate 70 teaching positions.

The district must cut $8.2 million from its budget over the next two years.

The proposal includes eliminating all physical education teachers in elementary schools.

"It's frustrating. The only ones suffering now are the children," says Zach Aguirre, a PE teacher at Lorenzo Manor Elementary School.

The San Lorenzo Unified School District received word from the Alameda County Office of Education that it must cut its $140 million budget.

District administrators are proposing eliminating 70 teaching positions. In addition to physical education, the plan would cut music teachers and counselors among others.

Teachers, including Aguirre, are speaking out to fight against the cuts.

"My students don't get a lot of these opportunities except in school. So for me, it is difficult to know they are losing out on some of those life opportunities because the district can't handle their budget," he said.

The district has been suffering from declining enrollment. The teachers union says the district is top-heavy with administrators.

The school board needs to submit its plans in March, but it will make its final decisions about cuts in May.