17 Mar Kennedy High Students Lead Walkout Protest Against WCCUSD Budget Cuts

Kennedy High School students staged a walkout and two mile march from campus to the West Contra Costa Unified School District office on a rainy morning March 12. Kennedy students organized a walkout the day before as well.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

Kennedy High School students organized two days of walkouts to protest budget cuts they say will disproportionately affect their school and educational opportunities.

The two-day action began with a walkout Tuesday morning and culminated in a march Wednesday to the West Contra Costa Unified School District offices on Bissell Avenue in Richmond.

“It feels really great. I feel really honored to organize this walkout with other students,” said Josue Enamorado, a Kennedy High School sophomore. “Most of the teachers here, like Ms. Perez, Mr. Taylor, Ms. Hernandez and many others, really care for this community, especially Kennedy.”

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The WCCUSD board voted Feb. 26 to proceed with cuts to over 150 positions as part of its fiscal solvency plan. This decision has sparked strong opposition from both students and the United Teachers of Richmond union, which represents educators throughout the district. And it came just three weeks after the board approved $13 million in cuts over the next two years, which would mean the elimination of 90 positions, including 17 classroom teachers. Those cuts were in addition to $19 million in budget reductions that already been made this school year.

The day before the Feb. 26 vote, union leaders spoke to Richmond City Council, asking it to examine the district’s finances, though the council holds no authority over the school district.

The cuts have been years in the making.

In 2023, then-associate superintendent of business services Robert McEntire said a fiscal solvency plan with significant budget cuts was necessary at a time in which the district was at risk of being forced to cede financial decision-making to the state. That followed a 2021 report in which the state Financial Crisis Management Assistance Team projected that the district would become financially insolvent because of deficits in the millions caused by overspending.

Enamorado expressed frustration that Kennedy appears to be taking the brunt of the cuts compared with other schools in the district.

“Other schools like El Cerrito, Hercules, and many other schools have so many great programs,” he said. “And it’s just us who are going to get the majority of the cuts, especially the majority of the electives here.”

Jasmine Sanchez, a senior at Kennedy, shared similar concerns about the cuts to vital programs.

“We’re fighting back on the budget cuts that are going on within our district, especially at the school,” Sanchez explained. “Many of my programs and our teachers’ really good programs that support students are being cut, and there’s really no reason for it.”

Sanchez also referenced the so-called Fund 17, describing it as a trust fund where the district “put a bunch of money in for no reason” while simultaneously cutting programs students rely on.

Some opposed to the cuts have said they are unnecessary because, they say, the district has $162 million in its reserves, but interim WCCUSD Superintendent Kim Moses told the school board Feb. 5 that was “not an accuracy in our reality” and that the reserves actually held $37.63 million at the time. Additionally, a Jan. 8 budget reduction plan said that the district “is expected to exhaust its Fund 17 reserves within three years.”

According to Sanchez, approximately 19 teachers at Kennedy are at risk of being eliminated under the district’s plan.

Both Sanchez and Enamorado see an equity issue in play, given Kennedy’s demographics.

“We’re a minority school. We’re mostly low-income, and it’s just so appalling that they’re getting rid of these programs that we deserve,” said Sanchez. “How are you getting rid of our rights to education, our rights to learn when we deserve it more than anything at this moment?”

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The students have been staying informed about district decisions through various channels.

Enamorado follows the school board meetings to keep his classmates updated and also reaches out to family members who work at the district.

Social media has also been a key tool for spreading the word. Richmond High School students participated in Tuesday’s walkout and joined the Wednesday community march.

At the district office, student organizers urged other students to attend that Wednesday’s school board meeting and make public comments.

Dozens of people from different demographics voiced their opinions during the Wednesday night meeting, to the point that the board imposed a one-minute speaking limit after hearing public comments for over an hour.

This is exactly what Sanchez and her classmates were hoping for when they launched their protest.

“Follow what you think is necessary and go through with your plans to support people around you and to support yourself and to support your people,” Sanchez said.