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Parents, counselors and students urge Paramount Unified board not to cut school counselors
Summary
At the Feb. 11 board meeting, more than a dozen public commentators — students, counselors, a parent and a Teachers Association representative — urged the Paramount Unified School District to keep counseling staff, citing heavy caseloads (about 12,000 students and 34 counselors) and risks to college access and student safety.
At the Paramount Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 11, more than a dozen students, counselors and community members urged trustees not to cut counseling positions as the district confronts declining enrollment and budget pressure.
"Counseling services are absolutely needed and essential to student success and well-being," said Arianna Bates, a 24-year school counselor at Paramount High School, who described a typical day that includes parent conferences, senior graduation checks and meetings with dozens of students. Bates told the board that in the past six months more than 5,300 students had checked in for counseling services and warned that cuts would reduce college support and delay interventions for students in crisis.
Lourdes Salamantes, a school counselor and PHS alum, told trustees the district currently has about 12,000 students and 34 counselors, roughly 350 students per counselor — notably above the commonly cited best-practice ratio of 250:1. "Reducing counselors moves us further from equity, not closer," she said, urging the board to reconsider reductions that she said would contradict district priorities on student support.
Students and community partners framed the counselors' value in academic and college outcomes. "We have sent our seniors to prestigious universities," said Jorge Tonix, an educational coach who said cutting counselors would harm college-going culture and scholarship access for first-generation and low-income students. Student Jaslyn Baragon described her counselor, Miss Garcia, as central to her ability to enroll in dual-enrollment classes and prepare for college.
A parent, Mike Perez, also used the public-comment period to raise a separate but related concern about special-education practice: he said that after evaluations by multiple professionals an IEP team decided not to find autism or ADHD for his son. Perez said he left contact information and requested a private follow-up meeting with the superintendent and board members.
Teacher-union president Ardelia Aldrich echoed speakers’ concerns about prioritizing student-facing services as the district plans cuts. Aldrich said some current consulting and administrative spending appeared to come at the expense of direct services to students.
District staff and the board did not adopt any personnel reductions during the meeting. Trustees acknowledged public comment and staff said they would provide follow-up information on counseling caseloads and the impacts of proposed staffing changes. The board later tabled (deferred) an item that would have established licensed clinical school social worker positions and eliminated district social worker positions to allow more time for review and public input.
The board intends to continue budget deliberations at future meetings as the district refines cost-saving options and collects additional data about program outcomes and staffing impacts.
