East Side Union High moves ahead with staff reductions as board approves release of 10 administrators

The East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees on Feb. 13 approved steps to reduce staff as part of a multi-year fiscal solvency plan, including the release of 10 certificated administrators, after lengthy public comment urging the board to spare student-facing positions.

The action follows a January directive from the county requiring the district to demonstrate fiscal solvency. Superintendent Glenn Vanderzee told the board the district faces structural budget shortfalls and must adopt cuts to avoid a county takeover if reserves and revenue projections do not support three-year balanced budgets.

Why it matters: The board’s decisions affect counselors, campus monitors, inclusion specialists and other positions that staff and parents say provide day-to-day supervision and direct services to vulnerable students. Staff and union leaders said eliminating those roles would harm safety, attendance and student learning.

Board action and voting: The board approved the administration’s recommendations to begin the reduction-in-force process and later reported in closed session that it had approved a resolution authorizing the release of 10 certificated administrators for the 2025–26 school year. The closed-session report said the vote on the release of certificated administrators was 4–1, with one trustee dissenting. The district announced separate actions on classified and certificated RIF lists during the meeting and reported the formal release of administrators following closed session.

Public comment and staff reaction: More than two dozen staff, parents and students urged the board to spare campus monitors, parent/community involvement specialists (PSIS), inclusion specialists and counselors. Speakers said those positions directly support students with disabilities, English learners and chronically absent students and that cuts would widen inequities.

- Jack Hamner, president of the East Side Teachers Association, urged the board to prioritize positions closest to students and to reconsider cuts to certificated staff. - Julio Pardo, president of CSEA Chapter 187, criticized large reserve levels and questioned why cuts were targeted at classified and certificated staff rather than a broader set of district expenditures. - Staff members and parents gave site-level examples — from campus safety incidents to students who gained credits after targeted programs — to argue that campus monitors and student services positions are essential.

Administration rationale: Superintendent Vanderzee and staff said the board has delayed major reductions for years using one-time funds and federal COVID-era aid, but those funds have ended. Vanderzee described a multi-year projection that initially called for roughly $10 million in cuts in the next budget year and a further $23 million the year after; the county required the district to present and begin executing a solvency plan.

Context and alternatives discussed: Speakers repeatedly criticized the district’s administrative growth in prior years and urged deeper cuts in district-office and bond-funded positions. The district responded that some increases were bond-funded and not available for general-fund operations; bond-funded positions cannot legally be used to cover classroom or student-services costs.

What the board said: Trustees expressed empathy for impacted employees and for the difficulty of the choices. Multiple trustees described the county’s demand for a credible three‑year balanced budget as forcing the timeline for action. One trustee said he opposed the specific administrator releases and voted no on that item.

Next steps: The district will proceed with the reduction-in-force process in accordance with applicable labor contracts and state law, including notification and bumping rights where applicable. Staff said the district will continue oversight and monitoring of impacts on attendance, safety and student services.

Ending: Board and staff said they will continue outreach to unions, sites and families as implementation proceeds; trustees also signaled willingness to revisit staffing allocations if new unrestricted revenue emerges or if the governor’s budget materially changes assumed funding.