‘This is just the beginning of the fight’: Pajaro Valley families organize after school board votes for major cuts in staff

Families, teachers and school union leaders are angry and determined to do what they can to overturn the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board’s decision to make massive job cuts during its turbulent meeting Thursday night.

Saying the cuts will be devastating for the education and welfare of the students – particularly those in special education programs – teachers union president Brandon Diniz added that eliminating all 13 mental health clinicians and cutting 15 counselors will leave students without essential emotional support.  

“Lives are potentially at stake,” he said. “This goes far beyond teacher jobs.”

Diniz said teachers will continue encouraging community members and staff to attend board meetings and urge the district to ultimately avoid implementing layoffs. 

“The district did everything it could to force that vote and disregard the community,” he said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

PVUSD spokesperson Alejandro Chavez told Lookout that over the next several months, district staff will be working with union representatives to figure out what level of staffing will be needed next academic year and to review which layoffs are necessary. Once that review is completed, the district will issue preliminary layoff notices before a March 15 deadline mandated by state law. Officials then issue final layoff notifications, if they determine reductions are needed, before May 15. 

“No final decisions regarding specific positions or the number of potential layoffs have been made,” Chavez wrote via email. “If positions become available due to updated enrollment projections, funding changes, or employee attrition, the district may be able to recall or rehire some affected employees before or at the start of the school year.” 

Diniz said that employees who receive final layoff notifications on May 15 are placed on a priority list of candidates for rehire if positions are needed again for up to 39 months. 

“They basically can’t make another hire in that same position without going through that rehire list,” said Diniz. “They get the first opportunity to come back.”

He added that after the preliminary notice is given, staff members can appeal the layoff. They can request a hearing in front of an administrative law judge to review the process used to determine the layoffs for any procedural errors and declare it null. 

Diniz said that there was some positive that came from Thursday’s meeting.

“Despite how the votes ended up, we were absolutely inspired by the turnout of students, parents and community members,” he said.

Parent Mads Realmuto was one of the dozens of parents to speak out against the layoffs, particularly special education positions that he fears will affect his 6-year-old daughter, Cora. He said he barely slept Thursday night and woke up disappointed. 

“This fight is not over, it’s just getting started,” he said. “I think that the next step is really for parents to assert their rights.” 

He and several other special education staff and parents told the district Thursday night that the schools are already not delivering adequate required services for students and the cuts will only worsen that. 

Friday morning, Realmuto filed a request for a meeting with district officials regarding his concerns that his daughter’s required services weren’t provided over the past two years. 

As part of that request, he’s asking for documentation to show whether her required services were provided and if not, he’s seeking compensation for the lost services and the effect it had on Cora. 

“It’s unfortunate we have to go there,” he said. “I don’t know how else to highlight for the board the real impact of existing violations and how these cuts will only accentuate noncompliance, and the costs that come with that.”

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