Counselors report thousands of Cal State and UC applications; raise staffing and resource concerns

At the Nov. 11 Sweetwater Union High School District board meeting, the president of the district’s Counseling and Guidance Association summarized counselors’ recent work helping students complete college applications and urged the board to address staff capacity.

Elizabeth Loynton Garcia told trustees that counselors have been onboarding students to the California Colleges platform and supporting college-application events. “As of October 30, 4,075 students have submitted their Cal State Apply applications. 3,198 students across the district have submitted their UC applications,” she said, and highlighted Cash for College and FAFSA events that aim to increase completion and access.

Loynton Garcia also raised capacity concerns: counselors lack stable resource assignments such as attendance coordinators and MTSS coordinators, which she said splits counselor capacity across sites and undermines consistent support. She called for investments that allow counselors to remain rooted at a single school to deepen relationships and improve services.

Student board representative Elizabeth Flores also addressed college-support efforts. Flores described attending the California Association of Student Councils conference and said she will meet next month with the ASB President’s Council to brainstorm ways to address bathroom misuse and locker-room access for student athletes. The remarks were informational; the transcript does not record a formal board directive or vote on staffing changes or new counselor assignments at the Nov. 11 meeting.