Good morning! It’s Monday, March 2, and after a foggy, perhaps even drizzly start to the day around Santa Cruz County, most of us should see some sun by afternoon and temperatures in the lower 60s.
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With the administration and teachers at an impasse over wages and benefits, Soquel Union Elementary School District’s governing board will consider layoffs at its meeting this week, Hillary Ojeda reports. Teachers’ salaries aren’t keeping up with risings costs, the union says, while SUESD’s superintendent points to declining enrollment and years of deficits.
Max Chun’s traffic-and-transit-focused Carmageddon column returns, this week reporting that there’s a $15 million shortfall for needed environmental work on the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s passenger rail project – a gap the RTC is hoping to fill with state and federal funding.
Jana Marcus introduces us to Good Egg Productions, a newcomer on Santa Cruz County’s theater scene. With its first production launching next week, Good Egg is aiming to build a structure that strives to value both artistic agency and compensation.
The Monday morning headlines also include a new CEO for nonprofit Encompass Community Services and strengthened protections for local mountain lions, but first, a view through the lens of Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.
Photo of the day
More than 30 people gathered Sunday at Watsonville’s downtown plaza to protest the ongoing U.S. attack on Iran during a demonstration organized by Indivisible Pajaro Valley. “It’s not clear what the emergency is that is justifying this war,” Indivisible member Laurie Emery said, adding that Congress — not the president — holds the authority to formally declare war.
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Soquel Union Elementary board to consider layoffs as teachers, district reach impasse
The Soquel Union Elementary School District board is set to consider eliminating nearly 17 full-time-equivalent positions Wednesday as contract negotiations with the teachers union reach an impasse over wages and benefits. Union leaders argue that educators — already the lowest-paid in the Santa Cruz County — cannot absorb rising health care and housing costs, while Superintendent Scott Turnbull says declining enrollment and a yearslong budget deficit leave the district unable to fund ongoing raises without worsening its financial outlook. Details here from Hillary Ojeda.
Carmageddon: RTC turns to state, feds for next step in passenger rail project — environmental work
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission needs to cover a $15 million funding gap to pay for the passenger rail project’s environmental work. It will turn to state and federal officials to find funding for the next step. Max Chun has the latest.
DAILY DIGEST
And we’re off and running in a new week and new month! Plenty more on the way from Lookout, so please do make sure you’re tapped into it all, whether that’s via the Lookout Santa Cruz app, available for download from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store; with the breaking news alerts and library of free newsletters you can sign up for here; and/or by following along on social media, where you’ll find Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
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Best of luck with whatever your Monday throws at you, and thanks for reading.
Will McCahill