Supt. Dr. Craig Pouncey says that the reduction in force the Jefferson County Board of Education approved, and then rescinded last week, has officially been “suspended” — but the head of an employee’s union isn’t buying it, and hopes to have a temporary restraining order in place by today.

That action came after a special called board meeting Tuesday morning that lasted all of two minutes, in which Pouncey stated on the record that the cutbacks of more than 220 jobs — a major part of his his financial improvement plan to cut more than $10 million in expenses — are on hold.

“I want to re-emphasize that no portion of the RIF [reduction in force] will go forward at this time,” Pouncey said.

But the board did not act on officially accepting any amended plan by Pouncey, partly because board attorneys had not yet received a legal opinion from Attorney General Luther Strange on whether or not last week’s reversal by the board was legal. The point of law rests on an existing decades-old case on whether or not a RIF can be reversed after it is approved; in that case, the RIF was made to stand because the employment terms of the affected employees had already passed when the reversal was approved.

In the case of JefCoEd, though, the employees who received layoff notices are still employed under contract until June 1 or later. The board’s delay on action until its regular monthly meeting puts the matter off until May 28 — just three days before those contracts expire.

That delay was too much for Marrianne Hayward, head of the American Federation of Teachers local for county school employees, who said it was cutting things too close.

“I am so angry. They are kicking this can down the road as long as they can,” said Hayward, who was also a member of the task force that recommended rolling back the job cuts. “We have employees out there that don’t know what their future is, and now you want to make them wait until the 28th?”

Hayward said her union would immediately seek a temporary restraining order against the system, to force a halt to any and all job actions.

“I’m not sure he [Pouncey] really means what he has said,” Hayward said. “Their response after the last meeting was to rescind and amend, and the board voted on that. And the very next thing that happened was an email to all principals telling them the board’s action was illegal and everything was still in place…. I think that, in my members’ best interest, I’ve got to file a restraining order.”

The action also provoked a strong response from board member Jacqueline Smith, one of two who voted against the plan originally.

“From where I’m sitting, I would say that I have no confidence in this man’s [Pouncey’s] ability to try to keep our system together,” Smith said.

Jefferson County Treasurer Mike Miles, who headed the seven-member task force that led to the rescinded cuts, said he hopes something can be resolved before May 28.

“Time is of the essence. The May 28 meeting is really too far away, in my opinion, to put off a final decision about principals hiring people,” Miles said. “People who work for the system have job applications out in other places. One of the things we worry about … is keeping talent within the system.”

Miles said he was willing to meet with Pouncey “at 2 a.m. if need be” to discuss further adjustments to the plan, in order to help move things along quickly.