Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/19/2012 09:05:01 PM PDT

UPLAND – The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday approved an agreement with classified employees to reduce their salaries by 7.78 percent.

The employees, who are members of the Upland Chapter of the California School Employees Association, agreed to the reduction, saving the district $848,528 in the current fiscal year.

“This is a tough thing to pass,” said Sherri Black, assistant superintendent of human resources. “It’s a difficult time to do this. It’s a very difficult time to do it because you know not all of the employees in the district have stepped up at this point.”

The board on June 28 approved a 7.78 percent reduction for the superintendent, assistant superintendents and management level employees.

The district still needs to finalize agreements with the Upland Teachers Association.

WIth the passage of the state’s budget, school districts are being given the authority to reduce the school year by an additional 15 days, 20 days total.

The 7.78 percent cut is equivalent to 15 work day reductions in the 2012-13 academic year.

Salary cuts among all district employees will add up to about $5.58 million in savings.

Certified and classified salaries have already been decreased by $863,000 due to increased class size.

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