Parents, teachers press Mt. Diablo Unified board on class sizes, counselors and missing acoustic tiles

A string of parents, substitutes and teachers described crowded classrooms, thin student support services and unfinished facilities work during public comment at the Mount Diablo Unified School District Board meeting Sept. 24, 2025.

Speakers said kindergarten and primary classrooms are routinely exceeding 28to32 students, forcing volunteers and substitutes to shoulder much of the supervision. Substitute teacher Carolyn Bowden said she saw one kindergarten classroom where a single substitute covered 32 students and contrasted that with a transitional kindergarten class she observed with one adult for eight students.

"What I'm saying to you is that you are putting too much of a burden on your teachers, especially in the lower grades," Bowden said.

Other commenters described similar scenes. Caroline Mamedi, a first-grade parent and preschool teacher, said parents often volunteer multiple times per week to manage class size. "Our classes are also full of 32 kids to 1 teacher," she said. Kylie Baker, a Gregory Gardens parent, said her son's first-grade classroom had 32 students and called the setting "chaotic."

Teachers and volunteers raised rates of special-education need and testing access as additional stressors. Substitute and retired dyslexia specialist Carol Watkins urged the district to speed evaluative testing for students with suspected dyslexia, saying delay imposes greater costs on children and the community.

Several speakers asked for more counselors in elementary schools and better staffing of speech-language and other specialist services. Amanda Graves, a teacher and parent, contrasted elementary counselor coverage with middle- and high-school staffing: "My daughter's middle school has two full-time counselors. My son's high school has multiple full-time counselors. Why don't we have full-time counselors at every elementary school site?"

Acoustics at Mount Diablo Elementary also came up repeatedly. Parent and volunteer Sarah Brickman described nine full-time classrooms that she said lack installed acoustic ceiling tiles after recent renovations. Brickman said the missing panels affect art, music and instruction in several early-grade classrooms and estimated roughly 150 students were affected in the first-to-third-grade classrooms she cited. She said the district has told parents the tiles were ordered but has provided conflicting timelines.

Union and district leaders were also in the meeting room. Linda Ortega, president of the Mount Diablo Education Association, reiterated union priorities including smaller class sizes, caseload reductions and fully paid medical benefits for educators. Many public commenters framed their remarks as appeals for the board to "come back to the bargaining table" and reach a settlement with teachers.

Board response: Trustees listened and thanked speakers. Several trustees said they would continue discussions with staff about school-level conditions and budget priorities. Superintendent Adam Clark and district staff later described steps taken at some sites, and staff noted the district had ordered additional materials where insufficiencies were identified.

Ending

The board did not take immediate policy action on class size, counselor ratios or acoustic repairs during the Sept. 24 meeting but acknowledged the concerns and indicated staff follow-up. Parents and union leaders said they will continue to press the district in upcoming bargaining and public forums.