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Torrance Unified learning center teacher tells board heavy caseloads forced grievance and medical leave
Summary
A learning center teacher told trustees she began the year above her contract caseload (28 vs. the 25 contracted maximum), rose to 38 students, filed a grievance, and is now on stress leave; district agreed to hire an additional full‑time equivalent but has been unable to fill the vacancy midyear, she said.
A Torrance Unified learning center teacher told the school board that sustained understaffing and high caseloads for students with individualized education programs pushed her to file a grievance and ultimately to take stress leave.
Katie Basilios, who identified herself as a learning center teacher at Arnold Elementary, said her contract specifies a maximum caseload of 25 students but that she began the school year with 28 and at times reached 38. She said attempts to get help from administration did not resolve the workload and that she was advised to run concurrent groups—an approach she said would shortchange students who require one‑to‑one or small‑group instruction to meet mandated IEP service minutes.
"By expecting learning center students to work independently while in the learning center, my honesty would be in question as I would not be providing the service minutes that students have been offered through their IEPs," Basilios said, describing how the guidance would undermine consistent instruction and feedback.
Basilios said the grievance process resulted in the district agreeing to hire one additional full‑time equivalent learning center teacher, but she told the board the district has been unable to hire midyear and that her working conditions did not improve before she took leave. She asked the board to honor district values of respect and compassion when making future staffing decisions.
Trustees heard multiple public commenters raise related staffing concerns. Jason Dutton, athletic director at West High School, said earlier salary‑equalization work left "137 of us on the island" still waiting for parity and urged the district to finish backfill for affected employee groups. A West High teacher identified as "Mr. P." similarly urged trustees not to forget counselors and activity directors, whom he described as the schools' "glue."
The comments occurred during the oral communications portion of the meeting; the board did not take immediate action on the grievances during open session. Basilios said district administrators agreed in grievance proceedings to add an FTE but were unable to recruit and hire the replacement in the middle of the year, a limitation she described as leaving staff and students without timely relief.
The board did not provide a new timeline or additional staffing commitments on the record during the meeting. The grievance and the teacher’s medical leave remained unresolved at adjournment to closed session, where personnel matters are typically discussed.
