20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 23-29, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com As enrollment declines, local schools are slashing budgets and laying off staff. By Celia Jiménez SCHOOL BLUES Sixth-graders in Samuel Swanson’s class at University Park Elementary School in Salinas are gathered outside for today’s lesson. They’ve been in the classroom learning about concepts like kinetic and potential energy, culminating in a hands-on project. Swanson asked students to use household materials—bags, cardboard, tape—to create cushioning that could protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from about 15 feet high. Some students worked alone, others in groups, wrapping eggs in paper and plastic. Some even devised a parachute. “It was a really good way to get them really invested,” Swanson says. Now, it’s time to put their work to the test. Swanson is climbing a 12-feet ladder with an audience watching. (He also invited students from other grades to witness the egg drop.) Laughs and cheers fill the grassy area where spectators have gathered for the show. One by one, Swanson drops the carefully wrapped egg packages. Some shatter on impact. For those eggs that land without a scratch, the sixth-graders proudly celebrate. “It worked out really well,” Swanson says. The enthusiasm of this hands-on exercise is a stark contrast to students dozing off during a lecture, he says. One of Swanson’s tricks, he says, is keeping lessons a little loose and having wiggle room to customize. Other times, he “bribes them” with crosswords or math games, which he calls a win-win because students have fun while also learning spelling, new words or multiplication facts. Teaching is only part of what educators do in the classroom; they look at their students holistically, including behavior, social skills and emotional well-being. The job includes boosting students’ self-confidence and encouraging them to manage their time to complete their assignments. “I’m still expecting them to work really hard, put their best effort in, make good progress,” Swanson says. Swanson has been teaching for two years and says he quickly learned flexibility. “You can never plan exactly what’s going to happen,” he adds. School district administrators are saying something similar right now about education funding as districts across Monterey County confront shrinking budgets and issue layoff notices to teachers and staff, or look ahead to cuts in future budget years. School districts are restructuring after the end of Covid-19 funds (intended to address learning loss and mental health support), alongside ongoing issues that impact their revenue every year: a declining number of students and an increase in special education. Of Monterey County’s 24 school districts, the Monterey County Office of Education reports that, combined, they are facing a $107.4 million deficit for the current school year. The budgetary challenges hitting Monterey County’s schools are not unique. Across California, officials report a perfect storm fueled by declining enrollment, rising costs and the end of one-time Covid-19 funding. Thousands of staff have received preliminary pink slips. Some districts are closing schools and reducing services in an effort to keep their budgets in good standing for the upcoming three years. School districts experienced an Samuel Swanson (top), a sixth-grade teacher at University Park Elementary School in Salinas, leads an egg drop exercise to test students’ problemsolving skills and understanding of physics principles to see if their raw egg can survive a fall in various types of padding. Below, student Noah Sanchez shares his cracked egg with the crowd. CELIA JIMÉNEZ CELIA JIMÉNEZ
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