After the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees late Thursday night made sweeping cuts to 78 classified positions, newly appointed Board President Carol Turley cleared the room of roughly 50 people who had stayed through the hours-long meeting to speak on a subsequent decision to slash around 80 teacher positions.
The classified layoffs included behavioral technicians and instructional assistants who work with general education students, as well as those with mild to severe socio-emotional needs.
Turley’s decision to remove the spectators came after she had warned them multiple times to stop shouting out of turn.
The last straw came after the vote, when one woman shouted that the trustees should “walk out there where he died,” referring to a student who committed suicide by jumping off the adjacent parking structure last year.
That statement reflected concerns from previous public speakers that laying off mental health workers will place more students at risk.
But apparently concerned about the implications of the statement, Trustee Joy Flynn asked, “Is that a threat to a public official?”
As the crowd left the room—with three uniformed police officers standing ready—several people shouted, “Shame on you!”
After the crowd had left—and only the trustees, district staff and reporters remained—the board then approved the cuts to teacher positions without public discussion and practically no comment from the Board. Trustee Daniel Dodge, Jr. dissented, and Medina was absent from the dais after he briefly walked away.
The votes came after a raucous meeting that packed the chambers, and started hours earlier on Main Street in front of the Civic Plaza building with a rally that drew more than 100 teachers and employees.
District officials say that the cuts are necessary to fill a $15.3 million budget deficit, as state and federal budget cuts loom and as schools lose funding from years of projected declining enrollment.
In addition, there are several positions that were funded with one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief ESSER) funds that came from the state to help schools cope with the Covid 19 pandemic.
“We’re carrying multiple different positions that were brought on in recent years that we can no longer sustain to carry in the general fund,” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Kit Bragg.
Bragg said that, even with the cuts, the counselor-to-student ratio will allow “a significant amount of staff to deliver those services,” including Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs), which are federally required plans for students with disabilities.
But speech pathologist Lindsey Kent questioned that assertion.
“We are not meeting all of the IEP services as it is, and I can guarantee you that will get worse with these cuts,” she said.
Kent was one of dozens of people who addressed the board, most of them decrying the potential impact they will have on the students who depend on the services.
“Cuts to mental health and special ed services are some of the most damaging cuts I can imagine,” said teacher Jenn Salinas-Holtz. “Students who are struggling with their mental health and students with disabilities who require extra assistance to be able to access their education are some of our most vulnerable students, and these cuts would cause significant harm, not only to these students but to their peers who will negatively be impacted by the lack of support.”
Watsonville High School teacher Bobby Pelz warned that the cuts may save money, but will erode the trust the community has in the district.
“When trust is broken, the culture of our schools suffers in ways that no spreadsheet can capture,” Pelz said. “You can stabilize the budget by manipulating numbers, but rebuilding trust is much harder to do.”
Jessica Showalter, who teaches in Watsonville High School’s Resilient Impactful Students in Education (RISE) program, described events that occurred with students who have since graduated, who experienced crises that were staved off by behavioral technicians.
This includes a student taking an employee hostage, one who brought a butcher knife to school and another one who came in having been sexually assaulted.
Pointing to several people in the room, Showalter said, “There’s three mental health clinicians and this person right here who have saved many students at many different schools.
“You take those behavioral technicians away, these students are going to be severely hurt, because my behavioral techs and my staff are not there to step in and take care of these kids.”
Ryan Alba said his 9-year-old son would lose the behavioral services he depends on.
“He deserves the care and education he is entitled to,” Alba said. “Cutting these services doesn’t just change the budget, it changes children’s lives.”
The item passed with trustees Daniel Dodge, Jr. and Medina dissenting.
Medina later questioned whether the board had made a Brown Act violation by holding the vote without public input.
Attorney Sarah Kaatz from Lozano-Smith—the law firm the district has used for years—told him it had not.
“When there is disruption at a meeting and multiple warnings have been given to the group, you can clear the room and continue the meeting having only the media present, and board members present and that would include not having public comment,” she said.
In other action, the trustees approved the first interim budget report, which shows that the district will not be able to meet its expenses over the next three years.
Chief Business Officer Gerardo Castillo predicts an ending fund balance of $50.3 million this year, and $32.8 in 2026-27. But that number drops to $3.2 million in 2027-28, well below the state-mandated 3% reserve, Castillo said.
And while that financial picture could change when Gov. Gavin Newsom presents his budget in January, it will not be enough to move the needle to a positive, he said.
And if that financial picture does not change, and the district is unable to pay its bills and meet payroll, it is at risk of state takeover, Castillo said.
Jane Barr, who served on the Board from 1990-2000, said that the employee cuts are necessary, and that failing to make them could have dire financial impacts.
“Should you not approve all of the cuts, you are at risk for bankruptcy, takeover by the state under (Assembly Bill) 1200, and the loss of controllability to make decisions.”
Also during the meeting, the board appointed Carol Turley as board President, and Joy Flynn as vice-president.
The 6–1 vote for Turley—with Gabe Medina dissenting—came after trustees Medina, Turley, Joy Flynn and Misty Navarro threw their hats in the ring for the position, and asked for their colleagues’ support.
Flynn was appointed with Medina, Navarro and Daniel Dodge, Jr. dissenting.
In her inaugural address, Turley told the crowd that she will work to maintain decorum during meetings.
“We are dealing with some heavy emotional topics,” she said. “Please understand that each one of us—trustees, district staff, district leadership, and all who are a part of PVUSD—are here because we care about students and want the best for them. There are no enemies in this room.”
Turley also said that she wants to allow space for everyone to be heard, “but I also need to ensure that the Board is able to accomplish the board’s business at the meetings.”
Turley added that she plans to hold open listening sessions within a week before board meetings to give the board more opportunities to hear from the public.
She also reminded the people in the room that students were present.
“We should set an example for how we expect our students to conduct themselves in a classroom,” she said.
