PVUSD board rejects layoff proposals by majority votes

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board rejected proposals by majority votes that would have laid off 100.55 full-time-equivalent positions during its Wednesday board meeting in Watsonville. 

The board rejected two items: one list of layoffs that included teachers and management with teaching credentials, and a second list that included mental health clinicians and instructional aides, or classified staff. 

After hearing from dozens of teachers, students and parents emphasizing the importance of the positions, of keeping art teachers and not increasing class sizes, four of the seven trustees voted against the layoffs. The trustees said they needed solutions that didn’t affect students directly. Trustees Joy Flynn, Gabe Medina, Daniel Dodge Jr. and Jessica Carrasco voted against the layoffs. 

Trustees Carol Turley, Olivia Flores and Misty Navarro voted to accept them, saying that while they don’t feel good about the layoffs, they felt the district had to ensure its fiscal solvency.

After the board rejected the layoffs, PVUSD Superintendent Heather Contreras told Lookout she’s concerned about the district’s financial standing. She said PVUSD has to make cuts to account for one-time pandemic-era federal funds ending and because of declining enrollment. 

“No district makes recommendations of that nature without a good reason,” she said. 

Contreras said there were several potential outcomes after Wednesday night’s vote. One option is that a trustee who voted no could request to have a re-vote on the layoffs at a future board meeting. 

Another option is that staff could work to bring a different list of layoffs for another vote in order to make the March 15 deadline required by the California Education Code to notify employees of layoffs. Contreras said a special meeting would need to be scheduled in order to do that. 

Or, she said, she and her staff will propose a new set of layoffs for the board’s consideration around the same time next year. 

“We will need to make double the reductions that were recommended tonight,” Contreras said about making proposals next year. She said if PVUSD doesn’t approve layoffs then, the district will risk fiscal insolvency.

She said she’ll have discussions with the trustees in the coming days about the potential options and next steps. 

Contreras said she understands that the board, with five new members, and with she herself having just over nine months at the district, had little time to absorb a lot of new information to make very difficult decisions. The most recent addition to the board, Flynn, was appointed Jan. 31. 

At Wednesday’s board meeting, held in the Watsonville City Council chambers, hundreds of students, parents, teachers and district staff held signs and attended in support of the employees. They also protested before the board meeting outside of the building. 

After the board voted to reject the layoffs, the crowd breathed a sigh of relief. 

Ashley Yoro Flowers, the classified union president, said the union is pleased with the board’s decision. The classified union represents a range of workers including mental health clinicians, payroll technicians and warehouse workers – all of which were on the layoff proposal. 

“Our members are the backbone of this district, and their work directly impacts student success,” she told Lookout. “We are committed to collaborating with district leadership to explore innovative, sustainable solutions that ensure long-term fiscal stability while upholding our collective bargaining agreement.” 

Brandon Diniz, who will become the new president of the teachers union, told Lookout he was happy about the rejection. 

He said he hopes the next steps include collaboration between the district and unions to address declining enrollment and the budget. 

“I feel encouraged that the board analyzed their own convictions and made a decision that put the students first,” he said. 

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