"We have been working to balance the budget for the past two years," said Shelly James, the district's director of human resources. "This resolution does bring us into balance for the next fiscal year."

Five employees--a social work program specialist, a health instruction specialist, a clinic health assistant, a warehouse worker and a campus assistant--will lose their jobs next year. Another five, including four health assistants and an instructional assistant for special education, will see their hours reduced.

Either way, the cuts will affect the basic care of schools, said Gina Tiscareno, the president of the Sunnyvale chapter of the California Schools Employees Association.

"The students are not getting services that the district has offered previously," she told The sun after the meeting. "There are health issues. The classes are not being cleaned everyday. There are maintenance concerns also. The minimum level of service is not being given."

Tiscareno is also concerned for the well-being of the employees whose jobs are being slashed or reduced, although she also said laid-off workers can apply for unemployment benefits and will receive three months of medical benefits. She said the district has unfairly targeted classified employees without looking at other ways to balance the budget.

"Not one teacher has been laid off, or taken a reduction in hours or pay," Tiscareno said. "In that respect, it's not fair."

She said that classified employees are critical to maintaining the quality of the schools.

"They may not be in front of the classroom," she said, "but they are just as important to running the district."

The recent round of employee cuts is just one of numerous actions taken by the district to balance the budget, James said after the meeting. The district has also eliminated certified positions and programs such as the Primary Intervention Program, which helped at-risk kindergartners.

James said that the district's financial outlook could be worse given the budgetary woes schools around the state are facing.

"We could be in a much worse situation," she said. "We could be cutting deeper and having massive teacher layoffs, but we are a pretty stable district."