Quick Take
Live Oak School District’s governing board unanimously approved a plan Wednesday to cut positions and reorganize others to resolve its ongoing budget crisis during a contentious and emotional meeting at which board member Jeremy Ray briefly walked out and threatened to resign.
Live Oak School District’s governing board unanimously approved a plan Wednesday to cut positions and reorganize others to resolve the district’s ongoing budget crisis during a contentious and emotional meeting in which board member Jeremy Ray briefly walked out and threatened to resign.
The district will send the stabilization plan, along with its latest budget report, to the Santa Cruz County Office of Education for a review and to issue preliminary layoffs by March 15.
The plan includes a long list of cuts, such as seven elementary school teachers, a school psychologist, one full-time-equivalent special education instructional aide, the equivalent of 1.5 full-time recess coaches and 3.93 full-time-equivalent reading/math instructional aides.
Staff had presented the board with two options for cuts to a mix of school-level and administrative staff. The board ultimately voted for an altered version of one of the plans that reduces a director of curriulum and instruction to part-time and cuts the equivalent of more than four full-time family liaisons. Family liaisons, who are all bilingual, welcome families in front offices and check in with families whose students are missing school. They often help communicate with parents and guardians who are new to the education system.
Board members voted to modify the plan in response to the community’s concerns, including keeping a full-time principal at Green Acres Elementary School instead of reducing the position to part time, and retaining an elementary school physical education teacher. They added new cuts to reduce the hours of two administrative positions: a fiscal analyst and an education services worker.
Board member Paul Garcia emphasized that he didn’t like either of the options presented by staff. But he said he preferred moving forward with a plan over the possibility of failing to approve one and being subject to the state taking over the district’s finances.
“There’s no decision we’re going to make that feels good,” he said. “It’s either that, or give it to the state.”
Garcia and Ray said the hope is that the district will receive state funding through the Community Schools program and can bring back family liaison positions that are set to be eliminated.
Live Oak School District needed to cut millions from its operating budget after the County Office of Education warned in January that the district wouldn’t meet its financial obligations in the 2024-25 fiscal year and subsequent years. It approved a plan last month to make as many as 51.29 full-time-equivalent cuts, including to classroom workers, after weeks of deliberations that have sparked an intense backlash among teachers, parents and students.
The board voted on the layoffs last month as it needed to ensure it had enough time to issue preliminary layoff notices to staff by the state-mandated deadline of March 15. On Wednesday, the board had to approve its stabilization plan, including the layoffs, and its plans for increasing revenue and cost-saving measures in order to submit it to the County Office of Education.
District officials say the stabilization plan has to be approved to make their deadlines, but depending on finalized budget changes, the actual layoffs in May could look different.
Following the governing board’s unanimous decision, some community members thanked the board for its efforts.
Teachers union president Lauren Pomrantz acknowledged board members’ work over the past several weeks and said the union thanks the board. “We have a great place we’re starting from,” she said. “And from here we rebuild.”
However, while the meeting ended in a cordial tone, it started with dozens of frustrated community members speaking up during public comment to continue to demand that the district make fewer cuts to positions that work directly with students and more to district-level positions. Many called both proposals for the stabilization plan inadequate.
At one point, as a community member said that the district moving forward with the cuts was “unethical and pathetic,” Ray stood up and said he was done and grabbed his belongings.
“I’m done. Good luck,” he said as he left the meeting. The person speaking in public comment responded that Ray was unfit to serve on the board. “I resign,” Ray responded.
He returned shortly after in time for the vote on the stabilization plan. Dozens in the crowd stood and applauded him as he took his seat. He apologized and thanked the crowd for a warm welcome back.
“It’s hard to sit up here and know that no matter what we do we’re disappointing a lot of people and hurting lots of kids,” he said. “It was just more than I could take for a minute.”
During public comment, Green Acres Elementary second grade teacher Mary Thomas said that by her assessment of the proposed cuts, she felt that district leadership wasn’t listening to teachers’ suggestions and didn’t have the same priorities. She said the impact would be devastating.
“I can’t even imagine the soul of our schools,” she said. “I think strongly that you need a Plan C.”
The budget crisis also comes as the district placed a $44 million bond measure on Tuesday’s ballot to help pay for repairs and upgrades to school buildings, exterior features like playgrounds and walkways, and new classroom technology.
As of Wednesday, with 4,272 ballots counted and more still to be tallied, the measure appeared headed to a victory, with 63.52% of voters in favor of the bond. The measure requires 55% of the vote to pass. Board president Kristin Pfotenhauer thanked the community for continuing to support the district.
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