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Parents, students and counselors urge board to keep school counselors amid staffing changes
Summary
Multiple students, school counselors and union representatives told the board that recent summer resignations and proposed shifts toward outside vendors threaten students’ mental-health support; the board approved a $1.1 million PVPSA contract amendment but speakers said staffing gaps remain unresolved.
A stream of parents, students and school-based counselors told the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board on Tuesday that proposed cuts and summer staff departures have left some campuses understaffed and at higher risk for mental-health crises.
"When I got back to the hospital, I was expected to catch up with all the school work I had missed," said Mark, a student who addressed trustees about struggling to access a 504 plan after a hospitalization. "I never want any student to go through the hardship I did." The student urged the board to prioritize access to counseling and wraparound support.
Several credentialed counselors described high caseloads and day-to-day crisis work. "Relying solely on community partners in place of fully staffed counseling teams is not a viable solution," Anelica Flores, a middle-school counselor, told the board, describing situations where staff had to "tag team" to manage a student in immediate danger.
Union leaders and staff said the district has been reshaping services after federal and one-time COVID-era funds expanded counseling roles. Brandon Denise, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, warned the board that contracting outside providers to perform work previously done by credentialed counselors could "supplant" district staff and might prompt an unfair-labor-practice filing if positions are effectively eliminated.
District staff clarified that a recent amendment to the Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA) contract did not increase funding; it corrected the contract scope so PVPSA can serve all middle and high schools rather than only Watsonville High School. "There is no increase to money or funding," Heather Gorman, director of student support services, said. The board approved the PVPSA amendment; one trustee recorded an abstention.
Nurses and other speakers pressed the board with health-related figures. A district nurse said roughly 15% of students have medications in the health office and about 21% wear glasses, and she cited district estimates of over 1,200 individual health plans in need of tracking; she urged the board to consider liability and staffing when weighing reductions.
Trustees acknowledged staffing pressures and said they are reviewing enrollment and attendance figures to guide assignments. The board did not adopt a districtwide, immediate hiring plan at the meeting, but officials said cabinet was reviewing up-to-date enrollment and attendance numbers to inform staffing decisions.
The next steps, trustees said, will include continued site visits, data reviews and, where necessary, bringing staffing proposals back to a public meeting. The board approved the PVPSA scope amendment on a motion and said it will continue to consider how to balance budget pressures with student mental-health needs.
