By Jondi Gumz
Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the largest in the county, is facing a financial challenge due to enrollment dropping 18% over the past decade, a projected loss countywide of 18% in the next decade, and the loss of one-time pandemic funding from the state and federal government.
To address this issue, Superintendent Dr. Heather Contreras called together a team of staff, parents and community members, to right-size the budget and reimagine services while prioritizing student interests and educational goals, considering equity and long-term investments.
The group, which met weekly, will present their findings to the school board at 6 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 15.
Participants looked at ways to cut $5 million to $8.8 million with the goal to “maintain high-quality educational offerings while ensuring equitable access for all students.”
Naturally, they wanted to keep cuts away from students.
When one voiced hope of a larger kindergarten class, budget chief Jenny Im pointed out that Santa Cruz County ranks No. 5 on the state Department of Finance list of projected enrollment losses, an improvement from being No. 1, but still offering little hope of a turnaround.
About $1 million in cuts — 9 positions — from the District Office were identified earlier.
These included one transportation supervisor, one counseling coordinator, and one English learning services coordinator, all in management; one tech support technician, one admin secretary, teaching, and one admin secretary, SELPA special education; and 3 parent ed specialists replaced by 2 project specialists, all classified.
The discussions did not take place behind closed doors.
Instead, the discussions were filmed so the public could see.
One called the process “gut-wrenching.”
Contreras, who started her job last May, said, “I greatly, greatly appreciate this team. When we knew that we needed to have a fiscally solvent budget, and that it would require a very thoughtful process as well as input from the community, we devised this plan to help get all voices.”
She added, “I can’t thank all of you enough. This takes courage and bravery. These are not easy decisions. I want to remind you all this is a recommendation. Ultimately it is the board’s decisions but this does help … because it represents the constituents.”
After reviewing five options, the small groups honed in on Options B and D, which were identical at $5.65 million after discussion.
The proposed cuts:
- Mental Health Clinicians Non-SELPA – $1.5 million
- Social-Emotional Counselors – $1 million
- PVPSA contract – $500,000
- Coordinator of Counseling $150,000
- District Office – $750,000
- Academic Coordinator Positions right sizing – $600,000
- Elementary release right-sizing $1.3 million
Team members agreed to make a slide-deck presentation to the board Jan. 15.
When Contreras called for volunteers to present to the board, half volunteered and the rest paired up with the speakers.
Each participant was asked to prepare talking points in advance with Contreras offering to format it to help as a prompt.
TOP IMAGE: Aptos High School Multi-Purpose Building