SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Teachers in the South San Francisco Unified School District are protesting potential budget cuts to classroom and layoffs while administrators are getting salary increases and creating a new administrative position.

"In the midst of our facing layoffs and cuts to the classrooms, they're adding a position in the district office," said Jan Speller, president of the union South San Francisco Classroom Teachers Association. "The cuts are really falling on the backs of students and teachers."

However, district officials argue that they are reorganizing administrative positions as part of an effort to address funding shortfalls as they take on educational reforms required by the federal government.

The district has already trimmed $1.8 million in the current fiscal year. It could slash up to nearly $5 million in 2010-11 because of lower-than-expected revenue from property taxes and the state's ongoing fiscal troubles.

As many as 30 teachers could lose their jobs, Speller said, and class sizes will likely increase.

Cuts to counselors, summer school, supplies, programs and other services could also happen, she said.

"We all know we have to tighten our belts," she said, "but to have (teacher) layoffs and raises in the administration is unconscionable."

But district Superintendent Howard Cohen said he has restructured and consolidated positions that would result in more than $55,000 in savings for

Cohen is also tapping restricted federal moneys to help pay for those positions, he said.

The district will be able to use those funds in that manner because they will be part of an overall academic improvement campaign, officials said.

That effort is required to lift the district out of a federal list of school agencies deemed needing to improve their programs, officials said.

Cohen described the new director position being created as a downgrade from the cabinet post of associate superintendent of educational services, which he is eliminating.

This director would be paid a salary of about $133,000 in contrast to the more than $155,000 for the associate superintendent job, he said.

Cohen himself has not asked for the increase afforded to him in his salary schedule, he said. For 2010-11, his base salary will remain at about $183,000 instead of going up to about $192,000.

Cohen acknowledged administrators would see increases according to their salary schedule, but he didn't call those pay raises per se.

Speller acknowledged that the federal money can be used on administration. "But it's still school money," she said. "It's still public money, and they still added an administrative position and restructured the salary schedule."

The $1.8 million in cuts this fiscal year have come through such measures as keeping vacant staff positions unfilled and not funding principals' budgets, Cohen said.

For 2010-11, district officials expect to slash $2.4 million to $2.7 million from the budget. That could mean "some teacher layoffs" and a corresponding increase in class sizes from 20 to 24 children in kindergarten to third grade, Cohen said.

South San Francisco Unified could see additional losses of $500,000 to $2 million for 2010-11, depending on how the state addresses a $20 billion deficit, Cohen said.

"The district has done its best to keep cuts away from the classrooms for the past school year as other districts have made massive reductions and continue to make cuts," board President Liza Normandy said.

Neil Gonzales covers education. Contact him at 650-348-4338.