The Top 10 Stories Of 2009

Burbank Unified School District laid off 34 teachers in May and expanded class sizes in the face of more than $20 million in cuts spread throughout 2009 to June 2012.

Many teachers were brought back on temporary contracts, but most have expired.

About 85% of the district’s expenses are tied to salaries and benefits and the district could not afford an increasing number of teachers on a tenure track when Burbank Unified was suffering from declining enrollment and state funding cuts, school board members said.

The cost cutting began in March when 128 teachers were notified for layoffs. Twenty teachers retired, left the district or took part-time positions in Burbank Unified.

10: Jolly out after six months

The Burbank Unified School District Board of Education announced Dec. 7 that Supt. Kevin Jolly would resign effective June 30.

The announcement came about six months after Jolly took the helm. He was hired on a four-year contract with a $210,000 starting salary.

Jolly had committed no legal or ethical wrong doing, board members said. But an uproar ensued when board members and Jolly released new district goals that would raise the bar for student achievement. Teachers and principals were still beaming from high marks on the 2008-09 accountability exams, in which the district rose above a critical benchmark and narrowed the racial achievement gap.

The new goals led to a torrent of public and private criticism that they were unrealistic, unfair and unnecessary.

Advocates maintained they were necessary, and that it was also essential to continually demonstrate growth and progress. Federal accountability standards in No Child Left Behind require 100% of students be proficient in math and English by 2013-14.

Jolly’s resignation was compounded by Deputy Supt. Joel Shapiro’s announcement he’d fill the superintendent vacancy in South Pasadena Unified.

The district rearranged senior leadership, promoting Lori Ordway-Peck to interim deputy superintendent and enlarging the work of assistant superintendents Jan Britz and Gabe Soumakian.

Compiled by Christopher Cadelago, Max Zimbert, Melanie Hicken and Zain Shauk