Board approves superintendent's strategic resource alignment plan to close $6.3M gap; parents urge protections for IEP support and guest teachers

The Redwood City School Board voted Feb. 4 to adopt Superintendent Baker's strategic resource alignment recommendations, a package of district-office and school-level reductions intended to address a structural budget shortfall driven by declining enrollment and the end of pandemic-era funding.

Baker told the board the district must "align staff, services, and operations with a smaller organization" and recommended reclassifying the deputy superintendent to assistant superintendent, eliminating certain director/coordinator positions and streamlining operations. He said the district-office actions generate approximately $3,500,000 in ongoing savings. The school-based recommendations—mainly reductions by attrition, classroom realignments and adjustments to guest-teacher funding—were estimated to produce roughly $2,900,000 in savings, for a cumulative impact of about $6.3 million across years.

Baker emphasized that required special-education services would continue and that administrative support for IEP meetings at preschool through fifth-grade sites will be maintained after principals raised concerns; he also said some roles identified for elimination might be filled in other ways where appropriate. "Taken together, these actions generate approximately $3,500,000 in ongoing savings," Baker stated during his presentation.

Several parents and school leaders urged the board to protect classroom continuity and special-education coordination. Leanne Thompson, PTO president at Clifford, warned that combining classes and cutting IEP administrative support would place unsustainable burdens on teachers and principals and could harm students who require many yearly IEP meetings. Steve Yick, an Orion parent and School Site Council chair, pointed out that Orion's enrollment is increasing and that the guest teacher who speaks Mandarin is critical to continuity; he said cuts to guest-teacher funding could force sites to reallocate classroom resources to cover substitutes.

Roosevelt Principal Tina Mercer, who participated in the strategic committee, said she appreciated the emphasis on minimizing site impacts and welcomed the decision to preserve a half-time guest teacher at each site and IEP administrative coverage at pre-K–5 schools, noting that some schools plan to use Measure U funds or site funds to maintain full-time coverage where needed.

Trustees discussed trade-offs, agreeing that many reductions would rely on attrition to limit layoffs, and asked staff to monitor outcomes at first and second interim reports. The board moved and seconded the superintendent's recommendations and, after discussion, approved the package; staff said further details on site-level funding sources and grant-seeking efforts will be reported in coming months.

The board also scheduled a special meeting Feb. 25 to consider parcel-tax ballot language and promised follow-up reporting on the budget's implementation and impacts.