The Los Ba&#241;os Unified School District has taken its first step in closing the deficit gap for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.</p><p>After their meeting on Feb. 11, board members voted 6-0 -- Trustee Colleen Menefee was not present -- to layoff 50 full-time employees, 49 of which are multiple-subject kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers. One employee is listed in the resolution as coming from the multiple-subject seventh- and eighth-grade range.</p><p>The layoffs will save the district $3.6 million. State funding reductions left the district's budget deficit close to $7 million.</p><p>Those being laid off will be notified this week. A list of teachers eligible to be laid off for the 2010-2011 school year was made based on seniority and credentials, Superintendent Steve Tietjen said.</p><p>"We still have a ways to go," Tietjen said.</p><p>At a special board meeting in January, trustees were presented with six other options that would help reduce district costs, including adopting a traditional calendar district-wide, freezing the district's carry over account, instituting furlough days, reducing the number of schools days, cutting salaries and eliminating bus services.</p><p>Tietjen informed board members then that none of the options, including the layoffs, would eliminate the projected deficit entirely. Negotiations to implement other reduction options are in progress, Tietjen said.</p><p>"I'm at a loss for words," Tietjen said. "It's a very difficult time for education."</p><p>No protest of the decision was voiced at last week's meeting. Tietjen attributed the overall acceptance of teacher layoffs to the community's understanding of the state financial crisis the district has been dealing with for two years.</p><p>"I think there's a realization that things had to change," he said. "But I think it's still a shock to those that are directly affected by this reduction."</p><p>In January, Trustee Aaron Barcellos said he was not comfortable with laying off 50 teachers because of the effect it would have the community, the district and, most importantly, the students. But when asked about the unanimous vote, he said there was a common understanding between board members after reality set in on the district's budget situation.</p><p>"We knew where we stood financially, we didn't really have many options. We realized no one is going to be comfortable with this," Barcellos said. "This is what's been dealt to us and we have to act on it. The full board feels completely troubled by this. What do you say to these people?" </p><p>Barcellos said he's under the impression that class size reduction will be eliminated from kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, increasing student to teachers ratios to 30-1.</p><p>"We don't have a lot of choices," he said.</p><p>Other board members did not return phone calls for this article.