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Board approves elimination of three vacant certificated positions after split vote
Summary
Trustees voted 4-3 to eliminate three vacant certificated positions including a counselor and two teaching positions; Trustee Michael Fong objected and urged preserving positions and fiscal reserves.
The Calipatria Unified School District Board of Trustees voted April 13 to eliminate three vacant certificated positions after divided debate.
The board voted to eliminate: (1) a 1.0 FTE counselor position at Fremont Primary School; (2) a 1.0 FTE physical education teacher at Bill E. Young Jr. Middle School; and (3) a 1.0 FTE resource teacher at Bill E. Young Jr. Middle School. The motion to eliminate the positions passed by a roll call vote of 4 ayes (Patty Dockstader, Diego Navarro, Raul Navarro, Frank Perez) and 3 nays (Michael Fong, Brittany Saiza, Holly Widmann).
Trustee Michael Fong objected to eliminating the positions and asked the district to "keep the positions, reserve 19% and don't fill the positions," framing his concern as a budgeting strategy difference. Superintendent Angelita V. Ortiz said earlier that enrollment had declined by about 20 students since CBEDS Day, which the district cited in personnel and budget planning discussions. Later in the meeting the board approved tentative assignments for 2026-27, which incorporated the previously listed eliminations; that tentative-assignments motion was recorded as passing by a roll call of 7 ayes.
The elimination vote was framed as an efficiency and budgeting move by trustees who supported it; trustees opposing the elimination urged keeping staffing capacity for students. The meeting minutes record both votes.
