Petaluma budget advisory committee to recommend $2 million in temporary-position cuts; board urges protecting mental-health staff

The Petaluma City Schools budget advisory committee will vote Jan. 22 on recommendations to eliminate roughly $2 million in positions currently funded with temporary dollars, Business Services staff told the Board on Jan. 14.

The recommendation is to remove temporarily funded positions rather than institute broad districtwide layoffs, Amanda (Business services staff) said, and the committee’s decision will be advisory: cabinet and the superintendent will review any recommended eliminations before the board considers them. The committee met in public in September, October and November and moved to closed, voting-member-only sessions in January; staff added an extra meeting after members requested more time and information.

Why it matters: committee members, board trustees and student leaders said cuts risk eroding services students and families rely on now — especially counseling and mental-health supports. Several board members said communications work also should be protected because it coordinates outreach, crisis response and program promotion across sites.

The process and scope Amanda described the committee makeup and process: voting members include three representatives from the certificated bargaining unit (PFT), three from the classified unit (CSCA), three site administrators, three parents and one classified administrator from the district office. The committee set voting protocols so the Jan. 22 vote will begin with a digital ballot followed by open hand votes across successive rounds; the group decided simple majority will decide items but sought a supermajority to show broader consensus. The committee also agreed that individual votes and internal discussion in the closed meetings will remain confidential; staff will report only aggregate yes/no vote totals to the board.

Staff said the $2 million target covers positions funded with one‑time federal and pandemic-era dollars and other temporary funding, not permanent structural budget reductions. Examples discussed included three LMFT (licensed marriage and family therapist) or bilingual guidance coordinator positions initially funded with COVID dollars; temporary teacher-on‑special‑assignment / assistant principal positions at several elementary sites; student‑advisor positions that support site offices and playground supervision; and prior eliminations last year of some custodial and academic coordinator roles.

Board and student concerns Trustees and student board members asked for clarity on how cuts would be selected and whether alternatives exist. Several trustees urged protecting mental‑health professionals and school counselors, noting students often lack timely access to services. Student board members Ava (Student Board Member) and Olivia (Student Board Member) said counseling workloads and scheduling delays make campus access difficult and said expanding, not shrinking, supports is vital.

"Students often don't know where to find counselors," a student board member said during public comment, urging the board to prioritize mental health.

Staff follow-up and related cost-savings work Staff asked departments to prepare lists of positions by site and year-to-year staffing comparisons (2019–20 to current) and to show enrollment trends that could affect site staffing. Amanda and other staff described district efforts to identify offsetting savings, including: - leveraging grant funding (for example, converting a general-fund LMFT to a bilingual guidance coordinator supported by a Community Schools grant), - exploring CTE (CTIG) grant uses and grant-writing capacity, and - increasing in-house transportation capacity to reduce reliance on a $1,500,000 contract with First Student — staff estimated that bringing more routes in-house could save roughly $750,000 annually if fully implemented.

Next steps The budget advisory committee will hold its vote Jan. 22 and will forward its recommendation to superintendent and cabinet. Staff said cabinet expects to review the committee recommendation and to present any recommended position eliminations at the board's second February meeting. The board can accept, modify or reject the recommendation.

Ending Board members asked staff to return to the board on Jan. 28 with a summary of the committee’s vote and to identify opportunities to protect mental‑health services and communications work while pursuing necessary savings.