Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Parents, students and teachers urge Ventura Unified to reverse librarian and classified staff cuts
Loading...
Summary
During public comment, dozens of students, teachers and parents pleaded with the board to reverse proposed cuts to elementary librarians and classified positions (including a 50% reduction to an ASB bookkeeper at Foothill), citing heavy class sizes and loss of critical student supports.
Dozens of students, parents and district employees used public comment time April 8 to urge the Ventura Unified Board of Education to reverse proposed classified staffing reductions that commenters said would gut site-level supports.
Fourth-grader Bailey Lopez Rojas told the board she wants the district to keep elementary librarians: “Librarians do more than help people find books — they encourage people to read,” she said. Bailey said librarians run programs such as the school newspaper and kindness programs and warned that cuts would harm students’ access to books and reading support.
Community members and Foothill Technology High School students pressed a separate case to restore a proposed cut to the hours of the school’s ASB bookkeeper, identified in testimony as Nothelia (Miss O) Blackler. A student speaker said the bookkeeper had been a mentor who helped him stay in school, and an ASB colleague said the position’s duties could not be condensed to four hours a day.
Teachers and site staff described wide-reaching impacts if school-site support roles are reduced. Marissa Burrier, a fifth-grade teacher at E.P. Foster Elementary, said her classroom has 36 students — a mix of language learners, students with individualized education programs and a student who is unhoused — and that losing a librarian will worsen instructional and social supports for high-need students.
Other commenters detailed districtwide classified-staff bumping (reassignments) and elimination proposals, saying the process displaced trusted adults who serve students. A district retiree read a letter from a Foothill graduate praising Blackler's role helping student leaders manage budgets and events.
Trustees did not take action during public comment. Staff said some positions are under review as part of district-wide budget adjustments; the board did not adopt or change staffing decisions at the meeting. Several trustees asked for more information and said they would consider community feedback as budget deliberations proceed.
The public-comment period included dozens of speakers on related budget issues; staff agreed to return with clarifications on affected job titles, counts and the timeline for any final staffing decisions.
