Facing millions in budget shortfalls, Pajaro Valley and Live Oak school districts expect to make deep spending cuts as pandemic-relief funding expires and they confront the effects of declining enrollment. For PVUSD, that is likely to mean slashing expenses for mental health staff and programs.
COVID K-12
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California schools back with fewer COVID rules, lagging vaccine rate. Winter surge coming?
Health experts are watching to see how schools do without expansive masking and testing for COVID-19, especially with many children unvaccinated.
Posted inK-12 Education
Affordability, teacher housing, student well-being: Superintendent outlines county’s top challenges
As schools welcomed students back to classrooms this past week, education leaders, including Santa Cruz County Superintendent Faris Sabbah, are ready to focus on student well-being, workforce housing solutions and funding. Local education faces the same issues as all employers — and increasing worries about a “fiscal cliff” even amid this year’s unprecedented state allocations.
Posted inK-12 Education
Time, turnover, parent pushback: Superintendent Tanya Krause details challenges as she pursues equity in Scotts Valley
Santa Cruz County’s fourth-largest school district is seeing a 30% turnover of staff this year amid issues of affordability and COVID-related stress on the profession. Scotts Valley Unified Superintendent Tanya Krause talks about the pressures of the moment and how they affect her efforts to build fair and inclusive school environments.
Posted inK-12 Education
Back to school soon — what to do about COVID?
California’s guidelines haven’t changed much from last spring — masking and vaccination remain highly recommended — though fears of increased infection have risen. In Santa Cruz County, just over 44% of youth aged 5 to 9 have received a COVID vaccine compared to about 68% of 10-to-14-year-olds. Among those aged 15 to 19, about 61% have received a vaccine.
Posted inK-12 Education
‘Tell the school goodbye’: Families, staff, alums heartbroken by closure of 60-year-old Good Shepherd school
After 60 years of serving families in Santa Cruz, Good Shepherd Catholic School closed on June 30. Officials from the Diocese of Monterey said declining enrollment and financial challenges led them to shutter its doors, but families believe they were close to meeting the target enrollment — and now feel betrayed.
Posted inK-12 Education
Santa Cruz school districts’ transitional kindergarten plans taking shape, but much still left to do
While summer is just now officially kicking off, the school year already feels around the corner for Santa Cruz County school districts preparing to add a new grade level to their campuses: transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds. Several districts have already submitted their TK plans — to meet a June 30 deadline — to the California Department of Education.
Posted inK-12 Education
Spending spree: Oversight scarce as billions in COVID aid poured into California schools
A CalMatters investigation found that schools had wildly different approaches to stimulus spending — from laptops to shade structures to an ice cream truck. No centralized database exists to show the public exactly where the money went.
Posted inK-12 Education
COVID, mental health and security challenges: School superintendent Faris Sabbah reflects and looks ahead to next four years
Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah will get a second four-year term leading the Santa Cruz County Office of Education after winning an unopposed election Tuesday. COVID-19 threw him a curveball, and now school security and generational funding challenges mean anything but education business as usual.
Posted inLatest News
The push to get children vaccinated is stalling. It poses new COVID-19 dangers
Despite months of outreach and on-the-ground efforts, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for young children remains stuck in neutral — prompting experts to say more needs to be done to inform parents about the benefits of inoculation.