When the Mariposa County Unified School District Board of Trustees convenes tonight, it will weigh the prospect of losing nearly 15 full-time teachers in the district. The board must take action to notify teachers that they may not have a job before March 15.

On the agenda is a resolution that would eliminate one high school English teaching position and 13.92 full-time equivalent (FTE) multiple subject teachers. The resolution also seeks to change the principal positions at Mariposa Middle School and Lake Don Pedro Elementary School to “teaching principal” positions, for which the pay is lower and the administrator would spend part of his or her time in a classroom.

Last year at this very same time, the board was considering laying off 20 teachers and closing Mariposa Middle School. Most of the layoffs were avoided, and the school remains open. The process was highly controversial, with hundreds of people packing a series of meetings on the subject.

The resolution is the first step in moving toward layoffs. The district has until May 15 to formally layoff its teachers. In the meantime, district staff will be working on a complicated “bump list” that determines a teacher’s seniority and, therefore, the possibility that he or she may still have a job.

One teacher called the reduction of so many elementary positions, “The end of class size reduction as we know it.” No further details about the layoffs were available.

Also on the board’s agenda under closed session are items closely related to the first. One resolution releases probationary certificated employees. Another group appears to deal with six temporary certificated teaching positions.

Finally, the board has a closed session item that releases an administrator. The name and/or position of that administrator is not part of the agenda, as it is set for closed session.

The board of trustees meets at 5:30 p.m. in the district office board room.