Parents and teachers urge Martinez Unified to retain MTSS counselors amid budget concerns

Several parents, a teacher and members of the public used the Jan. 12 public-comment period to press the Martinez Unified School District board to preserve school counseling staff as the district faces budget choices.

One parent described how the school counselor ‘Miss Wendy’ helped her daughter through behavioral and emotional struggles, saying the counselor’s support led to measurable improvement and pleading with trustees not to remove that resource. Teacher Vincent Pulo, who said he serves on the district’s DEI and budget advisory committees and the teachers’ bargaining team, called MTSS counselors “invaluable,” describing them as the staff who respond to classroom crises, support student social-emotional needs and help maintain school culture. He urged the board to consider counselors off-limits for cuts.

Another parent, Laya Neville, gave a personal account of her daughter’s progress with school-based counseling and warned that losing counselors would remove a key piece of students’ support systems. Commenters framed the issue both as educational necessity and public-safety mitigation: counselors provide early intervention and help prevent escalation of incidents, they said.

Trustees did not take immediate action during the public-comment period but the matter was raised in the context of upcoming budget deliberations. Several board members praised counseling staff during later agenda items and asked staff for more data on student participation and supports.

The public-record comments come as the district prepares budget discussions in the coming weeks; speakers emphasized that counseling and mental-health supports are central to students’ educational success and community trust.