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Petaluma board hears pleas to keep fourth nurse and CTE coordinator as $2M in cuts proposed
Summary
Trustees reviewed superintendent and budget advisory committee recommendations that would reduce roughly $2 million from the district budget, triggering public outcry over a proposed elimination of one full-time registered nurse and concerns about cutting the district's college-and-career coordinator.
Board members at the Petaluma City Schools meeting reviewed superintendent and Budget Advisory Committee recommendations to cut roughly $2,000,000 from the district's budget and scheduled a formal resolution on layoffs and reductions for the Feb. 25 board meeting. The budget plan as presented would eliminate a mix of classified, certificated and management positions and change funding sources for some mental-health staff.
The board, cabinet and the Budget Advisory Committee described the process as deliberative: the committee met four times and made decisions by supermajority on many items. Jason Sutter and Amanda (staff members) summarized the committee's work and the superintendent's recommendation. The proposal targeted positions including front-office support at McKinley/PACS, certain student-advisor roles, mechanic helpers, substitute allocations and a list of certificated and management positions. The package as presented aims to reduce about $2 million; some positions are identified as eligible for alternative or restricted funding.
The meeting drew sustained public comment from nurses, parents and teachers opposing the recommended elimination of one full-time registered nurse (reducing the district's nursing staff from four to three). Nurses and families said the district has seen a post-pandemic increase in students with Type 1 diabetes and other medical needs and argued the cut would create safety and legal risks. Nurse Monica Carvalho said the district's current workload already stretches nursing staff: "When a school nurse covers elementary school diabetes care, we are on-site all day, which results in other sites going without a nurse," she told trustees. Amanda Del Benny, a trained diabetes provider (TDP) who works at Mary Collins, said, "If I'm not on campus, someone has to be there with the students I care for legally, ADA. Someone has to be there." Parents described situations where insulin or other medical care was required during the school day and said the fourth nurse was essential to keeping medically fragile students in class.
The district identified possible alternative funding routes during discussion. Administrators said they could explore moving one licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) position into Medi-Cal billing (which would shift salary costs to a restricted revenue source) and examine Title I or other restricted funds to preserve nurse coverage in targeted schools. Tony (staff member) and Amanda (staff member) described carryover and ongoing restricted revenue that might allow temporary reassignments; the board asked staff to continue pursuing those options. Trustee Quinn asked staff to meet with the CTE Foundation and other partners to explore external funding for the career-technical coordinator before any final elimination.
No final reductions were approved at the meeting. The superintendent and cabinet will present a resolution for reductions and potential layoffs at the board's Feb. 25 meeting; in advance the board directed staff to pursue alternative funding (including examining Title I and Medi-Cal opportunities), to meet with the CTE Foundation about funding for the college-and-career coordinator, and to remove the nurse position from the draft resolution while those options are explored. Trustees also requested comparative data on nurse-to-student ratios in similar districts and asked staff to return with analysis of long-term funding reliability.
Why it matters: The proposed reductions would affect student-facing services (health, counseling, career pathways and bilingual front-office support) and could force students with medical needs to miss school or be otherwise reassigned if clinical coverage is not preserved. The board's decisions in the coming weeks will determine whether some positions are preserved through restricted funding or remain subject to elimination.
What happens next: The board will receive a formal resolution for reductions (a reduction-in-force/resolution) at its Feb. 25 meeting. Staff will provide estimates of budget impacts under alternate funding scenarios and will report back on conversations with the CTE Foundation and on Title I / Medi-Cal feasibility.
