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Teachers union leader and parents urge Pajaro Valley Unified board to delay layoffs vote, citing public-access and privacy concerns
Summary
Public speakers at the Dec. 11 Pajaro Valley Unified board meeting urged trustees to postpone votes on items 10.2 and 10.3 tied to layoffs, raised Brown Act access concerns and alleged a union leader exposed private student information after a school shooting; trustees debated a postponement motion but the transcript does not record a final vote.
Brandon Denise, identified in public comment as president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, urged the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board on Dec. 11 to remove agenda items 10.2 and 10.3 and postpone votes until January or February so the public could meaningfully participate. "For weeks, the public has been demanding that the board delay this vote," Denise said, adding that the district had options to accommodate overflow seating that were not used and warning that limited capacity could create Brown Act violations.
Other members of the public backed the request. Emily Halbig said the board should "not place any cap on the number of speakers and do not impose an overall time limit on any public comment item," adding, "Our voices matter, and we will not accept being silenced." Patricia Sotarello, a classroom teacher, described preparing for a winter concert and asked the board to "please reconsider and remove 10.3 and 10.2," saying budget and layoff decisions were too important to rush at the end of the semester.
Earlier in the meeting, June Barr raised two concerns she asked the board to consider before closed session: she warned that approving cuts could increase the risk of state takeover under "AB 1,200," and she alleged that "the head of the teachers union divulged private information" about students after a shooting and later told the board he did not regret it. Barr urged the district to report that conduct to state education agencies and credentialing bodies "if it's not under pending litigation."
Trustees debated whether to postpone. Trustee Medina moved to amend the agenda to postpone items 10.2 and 10.3 to the board's last regular meeting in January 2026 and to schedule a special session for public focus on the items; Trustee Flynn seconded the motion. Flynn read a prepared statement asking the board to "pause and return" in the new year and argued that "bad news doesn't get better with time," urging empathy for a community he said was "in distress." The chair called for discussion and planned a roll-call vote, but the provided transcript ends before a final tally is recorded.
The arguments in public comment centered on process and access: speakers said the timing and room capacity limited meaningful public participation and asked trustees to postpone a decision that could affect staffing and school services until the community could be heard. Trustees entered several documents into the record for review, including a news article about the renewal of the Secure Rural Schools program.
Next steps: the board moved to discussion and planned a roll-call vote on Trustee Medina's postponement motion; the transcript provided does not include the outcome.
