Union and staff speakers at the June 26 Coachella Valley Unified School District board meeting warned that ongoing layoffs and staffing decisions will disrupt core student services.

Veronica Duenas, a representative of CSEA (Classified School Employees Association), told the board that members face layoffs effective June 30 and asked trustees to “please take into consideration the feelings of my people” who will move into new roles starting July 1. Duenas raised concerns about internal appointments and interim pay, asking, “how did that happen when that person did not apply for the position?” She also said a PERB case is pending and urged the district to negotiate: “Please, let's start thinking differently for this new school year.”

Library staff and curriculum workers raised related operational concerns. Billy Fran Franco, speaking for IMAs, warned that summer departures mean students and teachers may lack materials when school starts: “As of right now, no student is going to have their materials, no teacher is going to have their materials. Our students will not be able to get their full education,” he said, and recommended filing a Williams complaint if students lack required materials by Sept. 1. Franco added that IMAs are the only classification authorized to distribute certain curriculum materials.

Duenas also questioned the district’s use of outside contracts for services she said could be done in‑house, noting a listed line item for audiometric and vision screening at about $49,746 and asking why those services could not be provided by existing classified LVNs and health‑service technicians. She told the board the district had laid off “about 252 classified people,” a figure she cited during public comment.

Other speakers pressed the district to fully implement a new transportation ID/swipe system that had been purchased but not used as a summer pilot; Duenas said the system increases accountability when students get off buses. Members of the public and trustees urged the district to plan for continuity of operations, ensure training for staff who will assume new responsibilities, and to use negotiated processes where required.

No formal board action followed from the public comment beyond acknowledgement; union representatives said they will pursue negotiations and legal remedies where appropriate.