By Jondi Gumz
In a meeting that had high school students staying up til 10 p.m., the Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustees voted to cut more than $5 million from the budget, including mental health clinicians students said are needed.
The cuts come as the district is expected to lose $10 million next year due to declining enrollment and state is not renewing grants provided during the Covid-19 pandemic to help students with issues related to online instruction.
The cuts were clearly painful for all involved, notably newly seated trustee Gabriel Medina, a film producer who voted no.
After hearing an hour of public comment from students and staff, trustees proposed cutting $750,000 from the District Office and saving $600,000 by cutting academic coordinator positions, and saving $1.3 million in elementary school release teachers who teach art, music and PE while teachers prepare lessons.
Next trustees proposed to cut $500,000 from mental health clinicians, $500,000 from socio-emotional counselors and $500,000 from intervention teachers. Jessica Carrasco, an artist and another newly seated trustee, joined Medina in voting no.
“I think big corporations in Watsonville need to step up,” Medina said, calling out Driscoll’s, the family-owned berry giant, and publicly traded Granite Construction, known as America’s infrastructure company.
That wasn’t on the agenda although Superintendent Heater Contreras said she would reach out.
Contreras warned that waiting to cut spending would mean deficit spending, and the potential of state takeover in which board would have no say in cuts.
“We have to make sure we are living within our means,” said board president Olivia Flores.
Asked why not close schools instead, Flores said talking to all the stakeholders would take more time and could be in the future.
“We need a decision today,” she said.
Contreras had organized a 24-member Sustainable Budget Team, which met eight times last year to review options, but did not have information on how many positions would be cut.
Those numbers are expected to be on the agenda Feb. 12 or March 5.
Many PVUSD students are disadvantaged, speaking Spanish at home, learning English, with parents working multiple jobs to support the family.
The Pajaro River levee break in 2023 closed and damaged Pajaro Middle School and flooded ag fields where many parents work.
PVUSD has a nearly $2 million contract with the nonprofit Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance where therapists in training get their hours on their way to being licensed. This contract is also being cut.
One PVUSD clinician who made four student referrals to PVPSA said none got help.
One student said she was bullied and the mental clinician helped her not give up on life.
“Cutting mental health will put students at risk,” said Bobby Pelz, history teacher at Watsonville High School . “The trauma and stress is not going back to pre-pandemic levels.”
Matt Merrill, mental health clinician at Renaissance High School, on staff since 2019, wanted to present information to the budget committee but that didn’t happen.
TOP PHOTO: PVUSD Nutrition Services staff gave up vacation time to spend learning about different ways to innovate and prepare the best food for students. • Photo Credit: Carlos Olivarez