www.montereycountynow.com APRIL 23-29, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 21 unprecedented funding boost during the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. It started in 2020, with funding to buy Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hot spots so schools could transition to online learning. It continued in 2021, after students returned to classrooms. The focus was shifted to addressing learning loss, combating absenteeism and providing mental health services; school districts experienced a rainfall of funds, the majority of which was one-time funding. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District received $30.5 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund plus $437,259 from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund; Salinas City Elementary School District obtained $34.3 million and $189,336, respectively; and Pajaro Valley Unified School District secured $68.1 million and $923,863. Districts used those pots of money to hire personnel, including mental health professionals and paraeducators. Now the money is not being replenished, leaving them with holes to plug. But the loss of one-time funding is compounded by a longer-term challenge, primarily lower enrollment. At Pacific Grove Unified School District, looking at a deficit of $2 million, the board in February eliminated five full-time positions, including four teachers and one librarian. “Incremental adjustments are no longer sufficient. Addressing this deficit requires meaningful, difficult action,” according to a presentation by administrators to the PGUSD board on Thursday, Feb. 12. Red ink has populated budget spreadsheets across multiple school districts in California. In Monterey County, parents have been expressing concern to school board trustees about how cuts will impact their children’s education and socio-emotional needs. School districts are trying to keep as many services as possible while cutting or restructuring internally to avoid deficit spending after one-time funding expired. For weeks last winter, parents attended various MPUSD board and town hall meetings where the administration presented a fiscal stabilization plan and three alternatives to address a projected deficit: saving $4.1 million (Option 1), $3.8 million (Option 2) and $8 million (Option 3). During the town hall meeting at Seaside High School on Feb. 11, the atmosphere was tense, and several moms voiced worries about losing positions including mental health professionals and community liaisons. The board listened to the community concerns and opted for a different alternative, saving staff positions but also saving a little less money, $3.7 million. This plan keeps community liaisons at traditional high schools and middle schools (at the elementary level, they will be reduced to parttime positions, while Central Coast High School won’t have any), as well as mental health professionals at each school. “Although this wasn’t an easy decision…I just want to thank you, board members, for taking into consideration everybody’s worries,” Norma Aquino, community liaison at Seaside Middle School, told the MPUSD board in March. (The administration’s goal was to slash an $8.7 million deficit for unrestricted funds in half. MPUSD officials say having a healthy reserve—$28 million—helped avoid cutting the entire deficit at once.) Other districts are also downsizing or restructuring their workforce, including Pajaro Valley Unified, Salinas City Elementary and Salinas Union High School districts. PVUSD’s board moved forward to eliminate 160 full-time positions in December, of which 51.5 were teachers, 15 counselors and 13 mental health clinicians. In March, SCESD eliminated 61 full-time non-teaching positions, impacting 73 employees. (In April, the district rescinded 33 layoffs and most employees were reassigned. Only three people lost their jobs.) SUHSD eliminated 14 positions, 12 of which are restorative justice facilitators. The need for counselors among the student population pushed districts to keep positions and services available longer than originally planned. “While those positions were never meant to be permanent, the district continued to fund them for the past two years because it was clear students were still affected by the pandemic and needed extra support in the classroom,” Mary Duan, SCESD’s director of communication and outreach, says via email. Before SCESD’s board approved the layoffs on March 10, Susana ManceraJuárez, assistant superintendent of human resources, told the board that several of the laid-off positions were funded with one-time funds, part of which was Covid-19 relief funding. “We tried to stretch it as much as possible, but at this point, it’s not doable,” Mancera-Juárez told the board. In Monterey County, most school districts face a deficit on their balance sheet, ranging from $40.4 million at Alisal Union to just $14,000 at Big Sur Unified School District. Only four districts out of 24 total—Carmel Unified, South Monterey County Joint Unified, Salinas City Elementary and Washington Union (along the Highway 68 corridor)—are without a deficit. PVUSD, MPUSD and PGUSD approved layoffs to address projected deficits of $29.3 million, $8.7 million and over $2 million, respectively. MPUSD and PGUSD moved forward with the layoffs, with the likelihood of coming back to request additional cuts next year. (If that happens, it would be the third time in a row PGUSD faces cuts.) PGUSD’s decision improved the district’s reserves, but Assistant Superintendent Josh Jorn told the board that a deficit is still on the books even if they approved the cuts because expenditures will continue to exceed the district’s revenue. Most of PGUSD’s expenditures are for salaries and benefits, accounting for 85 percent of its unrestricted general fund. That means any meaningful effort to address a structural deficit necessarily involves personnel considerations. “Our focus must be on stabilizing Top right: Ana Aguillon, manager of business services, presents on the budget at Salinas Union High School District’s Local Control and Accountability Plan meeting at Alisal High School. The LCAP process includes public hearings to increase transparency and solicit community feedback. Below right: Many students got involved in speaking up during school board deliberations as officials voted on layoffs. On Feb. 24, many students spoke against the proposed layoffs of 14 staff members, including 12 restorative justice facilitators. The board unanimously approved the terminations, effective July 1. CELIA JIMÉNEZ CELIA JIMÉNEZ
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