17 Mar East County Schools: Reductions, Frustration, Calls for ‘Unity’ as Work to Slash Deficits Underway

The March 11 Antioch Unified school board meeting lasted for six hours. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

The Pittsburg Unified school board officially gave notice that it intends to reduce around a dozen full-time equivalent positions to help ease its multiyear budget deficit.

Board members approved reductions at their March 11 meeting to teacher positions and other staff. Three teacher positions approved for the reductions come out of roles left by educators leaving.

The move comes weeks after board members approved $18.89 million in cuts to reduce the district’s approximately $25 million multiyear budget deficit. A majority of the reductions were identified in that meeting, but last week’s vote came as districts are legally required to notify employees who could lose their jobs by the next school year.

The board had to vote on each position separately because it failed to pass one motion that combined the reductions into one vote, and another that took out a woodshop teacher reduction.

Board members were split on the position, which was slated to be reduced from full-time to a 0.6 position. The position is not part of the budget reductions related to the deficit.

Board member Heliodoro Moreno proposed keeping the position full-time because he said that it didn’t seem like “everything possible” to increase class enrollment had been done.

“The main reason I’m doing this is because I don’t think that this teacher got sufficient support to advertise and to build up the signups for his courses,” said Moreno.

With board President Taylor Sims absent, members voted 2-1-1 to approve the reduction. The motion failed, though board Vice President De’Shawn Woolridge mistakenly said it passed after the vote. Superintendent Janet Schulze clarified the vote count, which included Woolridge and board member Destiny Briscoe voting yes and board member George Miller abstaining.

Antioch Superintendent Calls for ‘Unity’ at Heated Meeting

On the same night in neighboring Antioch, school board members held a marathon meeting of six hours that covered community backlash, a now-$32 million deficit, and one more preliminary cut.

That all comes on the heels of the approval of cuts to around 300 other full-time equivalent positions at AUSD’s last meeting, where the potential cuts totaled $38 million. The preliminary approvals do not mean that each position will necessarily be cut; rather, they allow the AUSD to include the positions in any fiscal solvency plan it comes up with this year.

Still, staff and community members are not happy with the possibility.

Speakers spent about two hours of the meeting expressing their frustration with the cuts — including one to a full-time equivalent reading intervention teacher approved later that evening — and the district’s handling of the process.

Elizabeth LaVasse said that two recent virtual budget meetings hosted by AUSD did not allow the public to “meaningfully participate.”

“From the public’s side, it feels like we were not wanted or valued or a part of the process,” said LaVasse.

Criticism of officials has been increasing since the cuts were proposed. Over 1,600 people have signed an online petition that is meant to act as a “vote of no confidence” in Superintendent Darnise Williams.

Lamont Francies was one of the few speakers who spoke in support of Williams. Francies said that the budget deficit comes from the years under former Superintendent Stephanie Anello’s leadership.

“Why are we blaming the person who’s now bearing the cross of the previous superintendent?” asked Francies, who was later booed by audience members as he finished speaking.

Board members pushed several public commenters until after they received the second interim budget report, prompting at least two dozen to walk out and a small few to shout, one of whom yelled, “Respect your staff.”

Williams addressed some of the community’s frustration before that report.

“I do have the utmost respect for everyone who is here,” said Williams. “We are not in a climate right now where it is easy for anyone.”

Williams also focused on one question many had asked during the budget process: “How did we get here?” Like previous budget presentations, Williams pointed to declining enrollment and rising special education funding, among other things.

“I invite all of you for conversations,” said Williams. “And for us to resist that human urge to point and to cast blame, because right now the best friend and response we have to this situation that we’re in, is unity,” added Williams.