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Pacific Grove Unified board directs staff to prepare staff-recommended budget cuts after students plead to save Community High
Summary
After students and community members urged the board to protect Community High School, the Pacific Grove Unified School District board gave staff majority direction to develop staff-recommended reductions (Option A) for FY2026–27 and asked that personnel items be returned as separate action items with additional rationale before the March vote.
Pacific Grove — The Pacific Grove Unified School District Board of Education directed staff to proceed with the budget subcommittee’s staff-recommended reduction package (Option A) as the district works to close a roughly $1.7 million shortfall, while trustees and community members pressed for clearer rationale and protection for student-facing programs such as Pacific Grove Community High School.
Students and community members spoke at length during public comment, describing the Community High program as essential. "I have a 3.9 GPA, and I'm on track to graduate within the next 2 weeks," said Hunter Hopkins, a Community High student who credited teachers Sherry and Mansour with turning his academic performance around. Other students told the board the program provides individualized instruction and social‑emotional supports they do not get elsewhere.
Why it matters: Trustees said the district faces a structural budget deficit that cannot be…
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