Parents and teachers urge San Ramon Valley board to restore Twin Creeks assistant principal and counselor

Dozens of Twin Creeks Elementary parents and teachers told the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education that recent cuts removing a half-time assistant principal and a half-time counselor risked students's safety, timely special-education meetings and equity across elementary schools.

"I'm here before you today to advocate for the essential need for an assistant principal and administrative support for our teachers at Twin Creeks," said parent Tatiana Wyshinsky, who identified herself as the parent of an incoming second grader. She and other speakers asked the board to restore on-site administrative support so teachers can focus on instruction.

Teachers and staff described specific operational and student-support concerns. "The presence of site administration is not just a structural necessity. It is a critical element in maintaining a safe and supportive environment," said Terry Knight, Twin Creeks music teacher and site union representative. Knight said responsibilities such as crisis response and behavior management will fall on teachers, counselors and classified staff already stretched thin if administration is reduced.

Fifth-grade teacher Katie Baron provided enrollment and special-education figures to the board: Twin Creeks had about 650 students last year and is projected to rise toward about 690 next year; the school lost 0.5 of an assistant principal and 0.5 of a school counselor; last year the site recorded 53 SST referrals, roughly 57 students with IEPs (not counting an additional 23 speech-only IEPs). "The math doesn't add up to me," Baron said, warning that single-site administration cannot cover all IEP, SST and 504 meetings.

Teacher Karen Cleary framed the concern as an equity problem, noting Twin Creeks raised about $136,000 in one year while other elementary sites raise over $400,000 and can use site funds to hire TSA administrators. "The current system for allocating and funding TSAs is not based on student population or need, and as a result, it is creating significant inequities across elementary schools," Cleary said, urging the board to consider whether existing allocation formulas drive those disparities.

Parents added personal testimony about lost counseling capacity and risk to students' mental-health supports. Licensed psychologist Laura Chu, who works as an educational advocate, said cuts will make it harder for students to access counseling and for parents and clinicians to attend required meetings. "Taking away our 0.5 counselor, taking away our 0.5 assistant principal is gonna cause a huge problem," she said.

Board members did not respond to the non-agendized public comments during the meeting; Vice President Susanna Ordway had reminded speakers at the outset that the board would not engage on non-agenda items. The public comment period included specific asks for the board to reconsider staffing decisions at Twin Creeks or to adjust funding formulas districtwide to better match site need.

Next steps and context: speakers noted the board had just approved several administrative appointments in closed session and that the district is monitoring state budget negotiations that may affect local funding. Trustees are scheduled to meet again for the next regular meeting on July 29, when district staff typically present the 45-day budget revision if state actions change local assumptions.

Clarifying details extracted from the meeting: Twin Creeks enrollment was cited as roughly 650 last year and projected near 690 next year; site fundraising was reported as $136,000 (Twin Creeks) compared with cited examples of sites raising over $400,000; last-year special-education counts cited included 53 SST referrals and ~57 students with IEPs (23 speech-only IEPs). The transcript records speakers' roles (parents, teachers, union representative) as stated at the microphone; the board did not vote on staffing during this meeting.