Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pacific Grove board approves five certificated reductions as part of budget‑stabilization plan
Summary
The Pacific Grove Unified School District board on Feb. 26 approved five certificated personnel reductions — including a change to the high‑school librarian role and cuts to elementary Spanish and a digital‑learning teacher — as part of a plan staff says will improve multi‑year reserves. Votes on the measures were split, including one 3–2 decision.
The Pacific Grove Unified School District Board of Education voted Feb. 26 to implement five certificated personnel reductions the district says are needed to stabilize its budget. Trustees approved the resolutions after a staff presentation showing multi‑year projections and a months‑long subcommittee review.
Dr. Kevin Adamson, the district superintendent, told the board the cuts were proposed “after careful analysis, meaningful collaboration and a clear understanding of what our fiscal reality is.” He said the changes are intended to protect core instruction and keep class sizes aligned with contractual goals while reducing ongoing expenditures.
The five actions approved were: reducing elementary staffing by 1.0 full‑time equivalent; eliminating the district digital‑learning teacher position; eliminating the elementary push‑in Spanish teacher position (moving that instruction to enrichment outside the regular day); converting the certificated high‑school librarian post to a 0.75 library media technician; and reducing Community High School staffing by 1.0 FTE.
Board members recorded votes on each resolution individually. Four reductions passed on 4–1 votes (elementary staffing, digital learning teacher, elementary Spanish, community high school reduction); the change to the high‑school librarian position passed 3–2. The board also adopted a one‑year certificated tiebreaking resolution (criteria: credentialing, EL authorization, supplemental authorizations, advanced degrees, then random draw) by a 4–1 vote to govern any equal‑hire‑date tie situations in a reduction in force.
Clerk Brooke Shamas opposed the librarian conversion, arguing the high school — which she called “a college prep high school” — benefits from a certificated librarian. “We’re proposing to trade a college degree for a high school diploma in an area that’s most identifiable with college,” she said during board deliberations, and said a certificated teacher plays a continual instructional role when students use the library.
Other trustees and staff stressed the broader fiscal context. Assistant Superintendent Jordan and district business staff presented multi‑year projections showing the district’s reserve could fall below recommended levels without ongoing savings; staff said the recommended reductions improve projected reserves in the out‑year but do not eliminate all projected deficits. Dr. Adamson framed the decisions as painful but necessary: “These recommendations are grounded in data, values and our responsibility as stewards of public resources,” he said.
Public comment included a written note from a student urging the board to “keep Spanish and computer classes,” and several parents and program participants had earlier praised district adult‑education programs and other services. Several trustees asked staff to return with additional detail on the exact savings and the timing of any layoffs, and staff cautioned that statutory rules (for example, seniority and credential protections) may affect the net savings realized.
Next steps: the district will issue formal notices consistent with California law and contract obligations and will implement the board’s tiebreaking criteria if needed. Staff also said they will return to the board with any clarifying details about how the reductions will be executed and the estimated net fiscal impact after contractual obligations are applied.
