Quick Take
After the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board rejected most proposals for layoffs at the district during a meeting last Tuesday, Chief Business Officer Jenny Im resigned the next day. School officials said her departure is a loss for the district and community.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s chief business officer, Jenny Im resigned last week, after the district’s governing board for a second time rejected layoff proposals that Im and the superintendent recommended for the district to remain fiscally solvent.
Im’s last day will be June 27. She started working for the district as fiscal services director in June 2023. She was appointed in July to the chief business officer position after serving as interim chief business officer.
Her departure comes as the district this year attempted to make cuts to avoid a budget deficit in coming years caused by ongoing staffing expenses that were funded through one-time federal COVID relief dollars, declining enrollment and increased labor costs. But in two separate meetings last month, a majority of the governing board voted to reject most of the layoff proposals. Im submitted her resignation Wednesday, a day after the second meeting.
Before she came to PVUSD, Im worked for the Sonoma County Office of Education and Petaluma City Schools, but she started her career at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Im has worked in accounting, payroll, budgeting, auditing and school finance.
The district said it wouldn’t provide her resignation letter due to confidential personnel reasons, and Im declined to comment on her resignation.
“I think it’s a big loss for our district and our community,” said trustee Daniel Dodge Jr., adding that IM did great work for the district.
PVUSD board chair Olivia Flores said in an email to Lookout that Im was “exceptional,” made a big impact in the district and explained financials clearly.
“It is devastating to lose someone with her expertise, although I am not surprised after our most recent board meeting,” she said. “Finding someone to fill her shoes will undoubtedly be a difficult task for the district.”
Nelly Vaquera-Boggs, president of the district’s teachers union, said, “We wish Jenny Im the best.”
The district hasn’t selected someone to fill the fiscal services director position since Im was appointed to serve as CBO. So for the past 10 months, the district said she’s been filling in at that position as well.
“Filling that vacated director of fiscal services role has proven extremely difficult for over 10 months during which time interviews have been conducted, but no candidate has been selected,” said spokesperson Alicia Jimenez.
Superintendent Heather Contreras said in a statement that she’s grateful for Im’s work for the district over the past two years.
“Her financial acumen and expertise is second only to her fiscal moral compass – both have been invaluable as we work collectively and transparently to ensure the ongoing financial stability of our district,” she said. “Filling this critical role will be no easy task, but we remain committed to finding a strong leader to continue this important work at such a pivotal moment in our budget sustainability efforts.”
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