With a budget deadline looming, the Simi Valley Unified School District board voted last week to lay off nearly 100 certificated employees, including teachers, counselors and nurses.

The district, by law, had to turn in a budget by March 15, despite the fact that the state budget hasn’t been completed and won’t be for months. The school district has until May 15 to change its plans.

“We are planning on the worst-case scenario,” said Don Gaudioso, assistant superintendent of personnel services. “We are forced to base our cuts on the governor’s proposed budget.”

Lowell Schultze, associate superintendent of business and facilities, said the earliest the budget could come down from Sacramento is in July, although it’s more likely to be September or October.

The proposed layoffs include 50 elementary school teachers and 11 secondary school teachers.

If the governor’s budget proposal doesn’t change, four Title I school instructors, four special education teachers and eight adult education instructors will also be let go, as will four psychologists and five counselors.

Program and district coordinators, an assistant elementary school principal, school nurses and a librarian round out the 96 eliminated positions.

Dayle Gillick, president of the Simi Educators Association, said another year of layoffs was going to be difficult.

“I looked back at what I was talking about last year, and it was like a reflection in a mirror,” Gillick said. “The same image came back to me this year, but magnified.”

Gillick said the SEA is considering how to make cuts, but none of the options was positive.

“Furlough days mean a cut in pay,” she said. “An increase in class size means fewer teachers.”

She said they’d also like to know what the plan is for bringing teachers back if the state budget is not as severe as district staff is planning for.

“We want a protocol or a trigger to see who comes back,” Gillick said. “With teachers, the district needs to err on the side of caution. What is the trigger point? Is it $5 million in reserves? Is $10 million enough?”

Gillick said the district has had between $18 million and $20 million in reserves each of the last three years.

Board members begrudgingly approved the layoffs.

“We do know that they’re predicting really dire cuts,” said Debbie Sandland, clerk of the board. “All these positions, it just breaks my heart to see them on here.”

Board member Eric Lundstrom agreed.

“Nowhere in the business world would you run a business like this,” said the frustrated Lundstrom. “They should already have all these numbers lined up.”