Plan to Eliminate Bilingual Assistants Causes Outcry

In light of a budget shortfall and slow language acquisition by students learning English as a second language, the city's largest school district want to revamp its program for immigrant students by laying off bilingual program instructional assistants and program clerks and replacing them with certified teachers, according to an article in Thursday's Argus Courier.

On Tuesday, the school board voted to send layoff notices to 40 part-time classified employees at the Petaluma City Schools district, most of them bilingual instructional assistants, prompting an uproar from some Latino families, who say the aides are critical to student success.

About 1,400 of the district's students, or 14 percent, are language learners, according to the California Department of Education.

But Assistant Superintendent Jane Escobedo said the district's data shows that children are not acquiring fluency in English before moving to middle school and suggested that certified bilingual resource teachers at each school would better be able to address their needs.

Meanwhile the district is facing a $1.7 million shortfall next school year, prompting the layoffs. However, it's common for districts to "over notice" employees because funding for the next school year is largely contigent on the passage of ballot initiatives to increase taxes in the November election.

Sound off: Do you think replacing bilingual aides with certified bilingual resource teachers will help English Language Learners?