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Teachers, registrars and school psychologists urge board to restore positions and clarify pay amid cuts
Summary
Staff and union leaders told the board that proposed eliminations of middle‑school registrars, reductions in school psychologist FTE and unpaid out‑of‑class work for classified employees will harm student safety, services and school operations; callers cited specific waitlists and projected savings under $400,000.
Dozens of teachers, registrars, and union leaders told the Santa Clara Unified Board on March 26 that proposed staffing cuts and compensation decisions threaten student services, safety and school operations.
Don Callejon teachers said limiting incoming sixth‑grade open enrollment to two sections would undercut the arts‑and‑design middle school, erode continuity and reduce extracurricular opportunities. "We have a waitlist of 44 students, and we're allowed to accept only eight in sixth grade," said sixth‑grade teacher Kimberly Medeiros, warning that policy limitations—not community demand—would force Don Callejon to revert to K–5. Teacher Tanisha Borgstadt said similar enrollment losses have occurred: "This year alone, we lost 26 sixth‑grade students to the SLI program at Cabrillo."
Registrars described the practical impacts of proposed eliminations. "We are the first handshake, the steady compass, and often the glue that holds everything together," said Kiran Veeraghanta, a registrar at Peterson Middle School. Kamalapriya Selvaraj, Huerta Middle School registrar, said cutting the five registrar positions would save "less than 400k," while shifting daily operational duties to counselors and office staff would create delays and safety risks.
Union and classified‑staff leaders also criticized what they described as lack of transparency and denied pay for out‑of‑class work. CSEA leadership said HR had acknowledged the extra duties but that affected employees were still being denied compensation; the union urged clearer communication and remediation.
School psychologists raised concerns about planned reductions in FTE and the district’s decision‑making affecting practicum partnerships. "This year, we were told that the district was cutting two psychologists from our team for next year," said school psychologist Katie Pettersen, who explained that practicum placements provide critical unpaid student‑supervision capacity and that barriers to memoranda of understanding with universities risk reducing that pipeline.
Several commenters asked the board to reconsider the proposed eliminations, rescind additional layoff notices for classified staff, or at least provide clearer communication about next steps. Trustee discussion later in the meeting referenced rescinded certificated layoffs and ongoing budget review; unions urged the district to involve labor leaders earlier in decisions.
