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Superintendent says enrollment declines, mandates have increased staffing costs; counselors and safety positions are priorities
Summary
Superintendent Calabufo told the board that a nearly 1,000-student drop over a decade and state mandates have raised staffing and special-education costs; officials said counselors and school safety officers added after COVID are difficult to cut and drive long-term obligations.
Superintendent Mr. Calabufo told the board he has led the district for nine years and that steady enrollment declines—"just under 1,000" students over the last decade—have constrained state foundation aid growth and sharply affected revenue projections. He said these demographic changes, combined with legal and program obligations, increase the district’s personnel burden.
Calabufo said the district uses COVID and reserve funding to retain new positions instituted after the pandemic, including school resource officers, elementary counselors and additional reading teachers. “We didn’t have counselors at the elementary level, and definitely, COVID exacerbated that,” he said. He warned that failing to secure additional local revenue would force cuts that could increase class sizes and reduce some extracurricular programming.
Board members and public commenters questioned administrative staffing levels and the trade-offs between program offerings and core services. Officials emphasized legal obligations—special-education placements and DASA-related investigations—that can trigger large, unavoidable costs and said those obligations limit where cuts can be made.
