Teachers and union representatives urge district to drop proposed benefits cap and rethink layoffs

Dozens of teachers, classified staff and union leaders pressed the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board on the human cost of planned layoffs and a proposed cap on employee health benefits, saying the changes would amount to pay cuts and undermine services students rely on.

At the public-comment period, Rylan Shannon, an English teacher, said she has been handed a layoff notice despite two decades of work in the district and asked trustees to seek alternatives to termination. "Terminating teacher employment is not the best answer," Shannon said. "Treat your educators with compassion and respect." (Speaker: Rylan Shannon)

Roddy Kirkman, vice president of negotiations for the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, said negotiations with the district have stalled on class-size and compensation proposals and warned that a benefits cap would be rejected. "A cap would be a nonstarter in negotiations," Kirkman said, urging the board to return to bargaining with concrete alternatives. (Speaker: Roddy Kirkman)

Other public speakers described classroom heat, reduced counseling and nursing services, and rising use of pesticide sprays near schools, and asked the board to prioritize student safety and retention of frontline staff such as counselors and special-education aides. "When support staff disappear, the work does not," Caitlin Millette, a classroom teacher, told trustees. (Speaker: Caitlin Millette)

District staff repeatedly told the board they were analyzing personnel and budget options. Assistant Superintendent Kit Bragg and Chief Business Officer Gerardo Castillo said the district is using one-time retirement incentives and vacancy analyses to try to reduce ongoing costs while preserving critical positions. Castillo presented the district's second interim financial report and said the budget currently carries a modest unrestricted shortfall in projections but that the district remains positively certified to meet obligations for the coming two years.

Board members asked for more scenario analysis showing how various settlement outcomes with bargaining units would affect the budget; trustees also urged quick timelines for rescinding layoff notices where positions can be restored. The board did not adopt a benefits cap at the meeting; unions say bargaining on the topic will continue and that work actions are possible if an unagreed cap is pursued.

The meeting concluded with the board hearing additional public comments and taking no immediate policy change on benefits; district leaders said further discussions with labor partners are scheduled and that the board will return to some items as action items at future meetings.