Modesto City Schools board approves resolution authorizing reductions that staff say could affect 39 classified employees

The Modesto City Schools Board of Trustees voted 6–0 on March 10, 2025, to approve Resolution 24‑25‑35 authorizing the reduction and/or elimination of classified and classified management services for the 2025–26 school year; district staff said the action could displace 39 employees.

District director Mike Henderson told trustees the list includes 633 classified positions on the reduction/elimination list, of which 585 are vacant; 48 positions are currently filled and those positions represent 39 individual employees. Henderson said many vacancies reflect reclassification or obsolete job titles and that the district is following Education Code timelines related to AB 438.

The vote followed nearly 90 minutes of public comment from nine registered speakers who urged the board to protect campus supervisors, school support managers and other classified staff. Lesie Lawrence, a campus supervisor at Enoch, told the board: "This is just sad — this money belonged to the children and the staff" and said eliminating her position would undermine safety and student support. A union representative asked the board to separate reclassification-driven reductions from layoffs for lack of funds and urged trustees to reject the omnibus resolution as presented.

CSEA and other speakers highlighted the human impact of the reductions and described campus supervisors as frontline safety and student‑support personnel. Several students and teachers from Enoch High said campus supervisors help de‑escalate fights, connect students to services and provide daily support; one student said removing the positions would worsen drug and safety problems on campus.

Trustees acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and described mitigation steps. Board members said the district will follow the statutory notice process, meet individually with affected employees to review bumping rights, and refer displaced staff to the MCS Training Academy for retraining, job shadowing or other placement assistance. Trustee Marks, who moved the motion, said he would make a difficult vote because it is required by budget realities: "You may disagree with the vote that I'm going to have to make tonight but I'm going to do it because I've been elected to make a tough decision," he said.

The resolution passed on a roll call vote recorded as Brown—yes, Dy—yes, Irvin—yes, Lopez—yes, Marks—yes and President Myasis—yes; Student Board Representative Cavi Gupta recorded an affirmative vote as well. Trustees recorded one absence. Following the vote, staff said they will notify affected employees and begin individual bumping‑rights meetings.

The board’s action was framed by staff as a statutory step required before March 15 to preserve the district’s compliance with Education Code timelines; trustees and staff repeatedly cited the sunsetting of COVID funding and an $11 million classified budget reduction as drivers of the action.