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Parents and teachers urge board to protect Mandarin immersion and keep teaching positions amid proposed cuts
Summary
A parent urged the board to revisit the district's plan to stop funding a Mandarin-immersion curriculum consultant and asked the board to invite program leads to present; the teachers' union warned that proposed budget cuts could leave 17 teacher positions unfilled and push class size to legal maximums.
At the start of the meeting, a parent who had been introduced by the board identified herself as Megan O'Reilly Green and asked trustees to review contracts and hear program staff before taking funding decisions that could affect the Mandarin immersion program.
"I'm formally requesting that you...please invite Winnie and Pearl to present at a meeting, justification for why Pearl is an integral part of our team," Megan O'Reilly Green said, explaining she would send the board contracts and curriculum quotes to clarify what services the consultant provides and why parents value the role.
In the dedicated union slot, Brenna Geer, president of the Redwood City Teachers Association and a sixth-grade teacher at McKinley Middle School, urged the board to reconsider proposed budget moves that could leave roughly 17 teaching positions unfilled. "Reducing teachers and upping class sizes is impacting classrooms," Geer told the board, arguing teacher retention is the district's most important investment and that larger classes reduce individualized attention.
Trustees thanked speakers and asked staff to bring more detail: staff said they would circulate contract materials for the Mandarin program and invited program leads to present; HR and finance staff described the declaration-of-need item as an insurance policy that allows hiring of interns and emergency credentials if necessary during a tight hiring season.
The board did not take program-funding votes during the public-comment period; trustees asked staff for follow-up briefings so the board, parents and program leads can develop a shared understanding before any contract decisions are finalized.
