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Board approves initial phase of budget cuts after packed meeting over proposed mental-health reductions
Summary
After hours of public testimony opposing cuts to mental-health clinicians and social-emotional counselors, the Pajaro Valley Unified board approved an initial package of reductions focused on district-office savings and right-sizing academic coordinator and release-time positions; debate continues over potential further cuts to student supports and PVPSA contract reductions.
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board voted on Jan. 15 to approve an initial package of budget reductions recommended by the district’s Sustainable Budget Team, even as hundreds of parents, students and staff urged trustees not to cut social-emotional counselors and district-employed mental-health clinicians.
The Sustainable Budget Team presented multi-week analyses showing the district faces a structural deficit as one-time pandemic (ESSER) funds sunset and enrollment is projected to decline. The team recommended returning to pre-pandemic staffing and funding levels and prioritized teaching and learning, visual and performing arts and enrichment programs; mental-health services were ranked but nonetheless appeared among items identified for phased reductions because some services were added with one-time funds.
After public comment that ran several hours — including students who said school clinicians had been lifesaving and district counselors who said community partners sometimes failed to complete referrals — trustees debated options and approved an initial set of reductions focused on central office and program right-sizing. The first approved motions reduced district-office spending and adjusted academic-coordinator and elementary release-time allocations. A subsequent motion approved additional targeted reductions (roll-call recorded). Trustees stressed the plan is a phased approach and that staff were directed to pursue revenue opportunities (including improved billing and fee-schedule work) and to explore alternatives before deeper program cuts.
Key votes and actions: The board approved district-office reductions of roughly $750,000, right-sizing academic coordinator positions (about $600,000) and adjusting elementary release-time allocations (about $1.3 million), an initial total of approximately $2.65 million in reductions. Later motions adjusted additional program reductions to approach the Sustainable Budget Team’s $5 million planning target; the board recorded a roll-call vote on an additional package after extensive deliberation.
Community reaction: Hundreds of speakers asked trustees to prioritize student mental-health supports, suggested alternatives (cut administrative salaries, re-evaluate PVPSA contract, redirect SRO funding) and urged the board to delay significant reductions until additional revenue or contract renegotiations could be explored. Union leaders and district social-emotional counselors highlighted referral delays and language/access gaps with some contracted providers.
What the board required next: Staff were directed to provide detailed numbers on PVPSA contract obligations, projected revenue from a new state fee-schedule pilot, and a more granular mapping of which positions would be affected and how student services would be maintained. Trustees repeatedly emphasized that failure to make fiscally sustainable decisions could lead to a qualified budget and deeper state intervention, and said they planned follow-up meetings and possible additional votes.
