By Jon Chown
In a board meeting filled with emotion, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to make drastic cuts to staff, eliminating more than 150 counseling and special education positions.
The cuts were deemed necessary to address the district’s steadily increasing budget deficit that is primarily due to the district’s falling enrollment. The deficit for 2025-26 is projected at $10.4 million, before rising to $15.5 million in 2026-27 and nearly $18 million the year after that.
At that point, the district will have spent its reserve and be forced into receivership, losing control over local decisions while at the same time being forced to pay for auditors and additional administration.
Mike Donegan, a teacher at Rolling Hills Middle School, calls for support from drivers passing by the Watsonville Public Library during Thursday’s protest.
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. The decline in enrollment has led to a corresponding loss in revenue. Eighty-seven percent of the district’s budget comes from state funds based on enrollment.
During public comment, local resident Jane Barr told the board what it would be like if that happened. She’d experienced it, she said, because she was a trustee from 1992 to 2000, serving just when the district declared bankruptcy. In the case of receivership, a state-appointed administrator assumes control of the district and has veto power over all decisions while the district’s finances are reorganized. Audits can 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.
“It’s not fun,” Barr said, adding that it would harm students during a time of turmoil. There would be key losses in personnel, more than the cuts considered that night, and the district would have a hard time finding qualified replacements.
“I ask that you take your job seriously,” she said. “I urge you to make these cuts.”
She was a lone voice in a chorus of people against the cuts, which include instructional aides for children with special needs, behavior technicians that help teachers with unruly kids, music instructors, counselors, mental health clinicians and health care assistants.
Teachers protest in front of the Watsonville Public Library over the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Supervisors’ vote to cut jobs ahead of that evening’s meeting.
Ricardo Lopez, a junior at Watsonville High School, said the counselors are what is most needed at the moment. Lopez said his own brother committed suicide and if not for a counselor, he probably would have too. “If a student needs help, where are they going to go?” he asked.
Other students and parents shared similar stories. Parents of special needs students questioned how the district would meet its obligations to their kids.
It was a difficult night, with difficult topics on the agenda. Members of the crowd made things worse by yelling at the trustees and disrupting the meeting. As the night dragged on, it became apparent the meeting might not end by midnight, which would mean that the crucial votes for budget cuts might be delayed for weeks. That’s when Trustee Gabriel Medina began trying to stall the meeting, clownishly asking questions that had already been answered and disrupting the proceedings by blurting out “Point of order!” He used other tactics as well, sometimes just fumbling for words.
Trustee Carol Turley, who had just been named the new board president earlier in the night, kept trying to keep the meeting on track, but it was a constant challenge for her. “Emotional topics are on the agenda today. We recognize that,” she said, but warned that continued interruptions would not be tolerated. She cut Medina off more than once.
There were two big votes for the board. The first cut was to classified employees, eliminating a total of 78.5 full-time positions. After the board approved the cuts, with Trustee Daniel Dodge Jr. and Medina dissenting, the audience erupted. Vague threats of violence could be heard, and Turley had enough of it. She called for the room to be cleared and officers from the Watsonville Police Department entered the Watsonville City Council Chambers, where the meeting was being held.
After a five-minute recess, the board then voted to eliminate 81 full-time positions among certificated employees, with all in favor except Dodge and Medina. The meeting ended soon after at 11:49 p.m. and police officers escorted board members to their vehicles.