By Jon Chown
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District unveiled a plan at its Nov. 12 meeting of the Board of Trustees to cut more than 150 positions in order to balance its budget, many of them in counseling and special education. It was not well received as teachers, parents and other members of the public packed the board room to protest.
“Cut from the top! Cut from the top!” the crowd chanted at one point. Fifty-two people lined up to speak during public comment. In tears, Watsonville resident Maria Campos took her turn and spoke to the board about how PVUSD school counselors have made a massive impact on her entire family.
The cuts are being proposed in order to address the district’s steadily increasing budget deficit that is primarily due to the district’s consistently decreasing enrollment. The deficit for 2025–2026 is projected at $10.4 million, before rising to $15.5 million in 2026–2027 and nearly $18 million the year after that.
The decline in students coincides with a local decline in children, though the exact numbers are uncertain. According to estimates by Neilsberg Research, Watsonville’s population peaked in 2017 at 52,842 residents and it now has about 2,000 fewer residents. And according to a recent Census Bureau analysis, the Santa Cruz–Watsonville metro area saw an 11.1% decline in children (ages 0–14) between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2023. For many years the district served more than 18,000 students, but since 2018, enrollment has been on a steady decline, with about 400–500 fewer students each year. In 2024–25 there were 15,070 students and there are just 14,620 students expected next school year. With so many fewer students, the district stands to lose $13.4 million in funding between this year and next.
“If we continue to spend at this rate the County Office of Education will have a larger oversight. We will have to do additional reporting and that will lead to receivership and we will lose control of our district,” said PVUSD Chief Business Officer Herardo Castillo. “And that’s something, believe me, we do not want to do.”
In the case of receivership, a state-appointed administrator would assume control over all levers in the district. The administrator would have veto power over all decisions while the district’s finances are reorganized. Audits could be ordered and investigations conducted with the entire cost, including the administrator’s salary, legal fees and more billed to the district. The PVUSD Board of Trustees would be merely advisors and have no authority.
During public comment, Ashley Earl Flowers, president of CSA Pajaro Valley Chapter 132, seemed OK with it. “Let the state come in, and if that’s what accountability requires, then so be it,” she said. “Or let’s dig deep and do what’s right.”
Flowers was also critical of administrative salaries, pointing out that Castillo earns more than $229,000, and Superintendent Heather Contreras’s salary was recently increased to more than $275,000.
Noel Brand, a teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle School, had another idea to reduce spending. “I think that we should close the towers,” she said, pointing out that there were empty classrooms at different sites all over the district. “Why are we paying for this massively humungous building?”
While the majority of those speaking were teachers, many parents, such as Campos, also spoke out. Michael Christensen, a parent of a child in special education, said his boy’s teachers were saints.
“They gave our kid a chance to have a voice. He’s growing. He’s thriving. He’s having all these incredible changes … and now to hear all these cuts that you want to have happen. These really are the most vulnerable. My son’s name is Jonah, but I have to say his name because he can’t. So we need to be his voice,” the father said.
On average, school districts across the state spend about $18,000 per student, while PVUSD spends more than $20,000 per student. At the beginning of the year the district had planned to cut about 100 positions in order to save $5 million, but that was rejected by the board. Instead, about 60 positions were cut. Kit Bragg, assistant superintendent of human resources, said that had more been cut in February, the pain would be less now. Among the current proposed cuts are 15 full-time counselors, about 12 intervention specialists, 13 mental health specialists and 40 behavioral technicians.
Misty Navarro
After public comment was over the trustees weighed in. Misty Navarro pointed out that it took six months to find a CBO and the district could not operate without one, and that the superintendent’s raise was approved in June. She also made a point of having Castillo discuss how the County Office of Education, along with seven other school district CBOs, agreed with the plan being put forward.
Gabriel Medina
Trustee Gabriel Medina started yelling at his fellow trustees, the superintendent and staff. He blamed the board and administration for declining enrollment, and said that the CBO and superintendent were overpaid. He suggested balancing the budget by demanding grants from “big companies that are poisoning our community.”
Then, in Spanish, he launched a soft attack on Castillo, questioning how he could accept making such a high salary when there are families that can’t eat.
“I came here when I was 17. I used to pick grapes and I was told, ‘you need to start studying.’ I worked during the day and I studied at night and that’s the reason why I’m here to support education,” Castillo replied in Spanish. “I work for what I make.”
After losing that exchange, Medina then moved on to wanting to use the district’s reserves of $46 million. “I think this is the perfect time,” he said.
Castillo pointed out that law requires districts to have a reserve of 3% of the budget, and if reserves were used to fill the deficit, the district would face bankruptcy and takeover in just two years. Medina countered that the budget projections were just assumptions and said that if the district went broke, it could just ask the county for $5 million.
“You are wrong. The county will not just give us the money,” Castillo said.
Other ideas with merit were brought up, including closing schools, renting facilities out or even selling them.
“I heard a lot of good suggestions tonight,” said Board President Olivia Flores. “We need to find a good balance.”
The meeting lasted nearly eight hours. The issue will be brought back before the board on Dec. 11 for more discussion and possibly a decision.