Teachers, staff and students urge Sacramento council to help Highlands Community Charter as layoffs threaten programs

Dozens of staff, students and program participants urged the Sacramento City Council during public comment to intervene after Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools announced mass layoffs that speakers said will affect more than 620 employees and threaten services to thousands of students.

Vicki Neal, identified in her remarks as a principal at Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools, told the council the layoffs would affect the school's ability to serve "thousands" of students and called Highlands "a lifeline" for immigrants and others. "We respectfully ask you to stand with us. Stand with our students, with our families, and our community," Neal said.

Several speakers described the same problems and asked for help from the council. Sergei Ivanuk, a truck driving coordinator for HCCTS, described the program as a pathway to stable employment for parolees, refugees and other students and warned that losing the truck driving program would remove a pathway to independence for participants. "Losing this program isn't just losing the skill," Ivanuk said. "It's losing their path to independence and success."

Other speakers gave similar detail: former student Yao Ching said Highlands taught her English and helped her obtain employment after arriving in the U.S.; Ruhollah Babak, a staff member, said Highlands serves many refugees and that closing programs would end support for students who rely on the school for transportation and other services.

Isabela Mesko, student onboarding and records manager, told the council the layoffs were tied to a "recent and sudden reinterpretation of regulations by the California Department of Education and Commission on Teacher Credentialing," which she said forced teachers to hold K‑12 credentials to qualify for state funding under the school's WIOA grants. Mesko said the reinterpretation has led to layoff notices for more than 85 percent of Highlands' workforce and that Highlands expected to shrink enrollment from roughly 13,000 annually to about 3,300 if the layoffs stand.

Speakers asked the council to consider options to preserve programs that provide English instruction, career technical classes (including truck driving, welding and medical assisting), and veteran wraparound services that community members said are provided at no cost to students and deliver workforce placements.

No formal council action was taken during the public comment period. Council members acknowledged the speakers and did not announce immediate remedies on the council floor during the meeting; several members signaled interest in receiving more detail from staff and community representatives.