While other districts struggle to balance the budget, Valley View School District has avoided the need to hand out pink slips this year to teachers this year.

However, instructional aides were not as lucky.

For the first time in several years, Valley View will not hand out Reduction-In-Force (RIF) notices to non-tenured certified teaching staff, said Spokesman Larry Randa.

There's a large number of retirements at the end of the current school year, as well as several resignations, which negate the need for a certified staff RIF, said Sharon Hawks. executive director for human resources at Tuesday night's board meeting.

However, there is a need to reduce the number of instructional aides, Hawks said.

Valley View will issue RIF notices to about 29 first-and-second-year teacher aides because of enrollment changes as well as for budgetary considerations. Hawks indicated "around 14" of the 29 are likely to be called back to work at some point in the next few months. Call-backs take place based on seniority