Newark Unified unveils $6.1 million reduction plan as staff and parents warn of program impacts

The Newark Unified School District on Jan. 21 presented a plan to cut about $6.1 million from the general fund as administrators seek to close a multiyear projected shortfall.

The superintendent told the board the district had been challenged by declining enrollment and the end of one-time funding, and staff presented recommendations that would reduce management positions, rely on attrition and non-reelection in certificated ranks, and restructure classified roles in information technology and other departments. Staff outlined legal notice deadlines for potential layoffs — initial notices by March 15 and final notices by May 15 — and emphasized that some recommendations remain under study.

Why it matters: The proposed reductions would affect school operations and personnel across the district, including custodial, instructional and student-information-system support roles. Dozens of employees, parents and union representatives packed the board room to press trustees for clearer fiscal analysis and alternatives to staff layoffs.

At public comment, several classified staff described the practical effects of cuts. Cindy Parks said the district’s forecasting has repeatedly overstated deficits and urged the administration to share the supporting analysis: “The presentation highlighted a $10,000,000 reduction in budget deficit,” Parks said, and she objected to slides that she said lacked cost detail and supporting evidence. Food-service workers asked the board to consider pay increases, with speakers asking for raises of roughly $1.50 per hour or 15 percent to respond to rising living costs.

Representatives of the CSEA union and the Newark teachers association pressed the board to preserve jobs and to prioritize student-facing services. The CSEA president, addressing trustees, said classified employees “are the backbone of this district” and warned that repeated staffing reductions erode operations and morale.

District staff walked the board through specific recommendations: eliminating or defunding select vacant management positions, reducing nine temporary teacher contracts, and consolidating or shifting the operating model for some alternative-education programs (an estimated potential saving of about $500,000 if Bridgepoint services are moved to a high-school site). An IT reorganization would replace an IT technician and two software-support roles with two analyst-level positions (a network/systems administrator and an SIS analyst); staff said that approach should save money while improving CALPADS and other data systems.

On special education, staff said some contracted services could be reduced in favor of hiring and training in-house paraeducators, a move intended to lower costs without reducing required services. Administrators said any changes would need to comply with individual IEP obligations.

Board reaction and next steps: Trustees repeatedly asked for clearer line-item detail and a study session to walk through beginning balances, revenue and commitments that drive the projected deficits. One trustee recommended a short study session before the Feb. 4 meeting so members and the public can better understand the starting fund balance, the multiyear projection and the specific items that generate the projected $6 million shortfall.

The superintendent and finance staff said a revised presentation and additional backup slides would be posted and that the board would revisit the recommendations at its Feb. 4 meeting, with formal board resolutions required by law on later February and March agendas if the board wants to proceed.

What the board voted on that night: trustees ratified two Department of Education grant notifications (After School Education and Safety; California Partnership Academies) and approved the 2025–26 draft school calendar (Calendar A). The meeting included routine procedural votes (for example, moving the public-comment slot earlier and extending the meeting) but no formal reductions or termination actions were approved at this session.

The board said it will return with more detailed budget backup, and staff noted that program and staffing decisions could change as the district refines its projections and explores revenue options such as facility-use contracts and other reimbursements.

The board adjourned after additional items on the agenda and set follow-ups for the budget work in February.