Quick Take
Parents and teachers are urging Pajaro Valley Unified School District to reinstate a contract with Barrios Unidos, a local nonprofit that provided on-campus mentorship to Pajaro Valley High School students. While district officials cite unmet performance outcomes, supporters argue the program was vital for students facing crises and should be prioritized.
For weeks, parents and teachers have been calling on Pajaro Valley Unified School District administrators to renew a contract between local service organization Barrios Unidos and Pajaro Valley High School to provide mentors on the campus after the agreement was terminated at the end of the school year.
District officials say the decision to terminate the contract was due to inadequate outcomes. Barrios Unidos supporters disagree and say the program was helping struggling students.
Barrios Unidos, founded in 1977 by Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez and located on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, provides a wide range of services and programs focused on preventing violence and promoting cultural awareness. It operates a food pantry, helps formerly incarcerated people reenter the community, runs summer youth camps and hosts community events and Indigenous ceremonies. Barrios Unidos staff also mentor kids at other PVUSD schools when guardians or parents reach out directly to the organization.
Omar Dieguez, a mentor and a program coordinator at Barrios Unidos, said the organization has mentored and worked with youth in PVUSD schools for years without contracts and just on individual bases. However, he said, about halfway through this past year, Pajaro Valley High entered into a contract with Barrios Unidos to integrate two of the organization’s mentors, including Dieguez, into the school to provide support to students.
Dieguez says, through the contract, he and another mentor were at the school twice a week, eight hours a day, and they also attended football games and chaperoned proms. In their short time at the school, Dieguez said they worked with 200 students. He’s frustrated with the termination of the contract.
“Some of [the students] are dealing with crisis, suicide, substance abuse,” he said. “I answer my phone seven days a week. Whenever they need me. So those are the benefits of us being on campus and building those relationships.”
Alejandrez told Lookout the organization will meet with Pajaro Valley High Principal Todd Wilson next month to discuss how to continue providing their services.
“We knew that the contract ended but we left the door open that we would talk again in August and see what we can do,” said Alejandrez. “We want to continue that relationship and support [students] throughout the school year. All we want to do is bring positive energy to our students.”
Maria Velasquez, a parent of an E.A. Hall Middle School student, said staff at Barrios Unidos were the only ones who listened to her and supported her when she needed help for her child, who was being bullied.
“The only person who defended my child was [mentor] Omar, and Barrios Unidos,” she said during a meeting of the district’s governing board on June 11. “I think Barrios Unidos needs to be in the school district, in Pajaro Valley High School and all the schools.”
Teachers and parents continued advocating for the contract at the board’s meeting last Wednesday evening. Brandon Diniz, president of the teachers union, said rather than spending money on placing law enforcement officers in schools, the district should fund service organizations like Barrios Unidos.
District spokesperson Alicia Jimenez wrote in a statement to Lookout that the decision to end the contract was made after the school conducted a legally required annual assessment on the efficiency of programs.
“Following the regular, annual assessment, it was determined that the program did not meet the desired outcomes,” she wrote. “The school’s leadership team, in collaboration with [stakeholders], made the decision not to renew the contract for the following year. Resources previously allocated for this program will be redistributed to other programs that have demonstrated a stronger impact on student outcomes.”
Jimenez wrote that the district understands that the termination of the contract raised concerns and that officials “respect differing views on this matter.”
“We appreciate and value all of our program partners and will continue operating with the best interests of our students in mind, and our ongoing commitment to improving educational outcomes,” she wrote.
District officials and Dieguez didn’t provide or know of the details of the cost of the contract with Barrios Unidos or the dates it was in effect. Jimenez didn’t respond to questions about what outcomes Barrios Unidos was expected to achieve and how the organization fell short, which programs demonstrated stronger outcomes and if any other schools have or had similar contracts with Barrios Unidos.
Supporters of Barrios Unidos accused PV High administrators of violating protocol when it terminated the contract, but Jimenez said “there is no breach of contract.”
Dieguez said there are still a lot of lingering questions about what happened and why.
“We don’t have a clear answer,” he said.
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