San Diego Unified gave hundreds of school employees a reprieve from planned layoffs Tuesday night, approving a plan proposed last week by Superintendent Terry Grier. The school board opted to reinstate more than 400 employees previously at risk of losing their jobs, including at least 300 elementary school teachers, in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget proposal, which partially restored the funding expected to flow to California schools next year. Overall, San Diego Unified has revised its projected cuts downward from $80 million to $53 million.

— EMILY ALPERT