Pajaro Valley Unified School District has suffered declining enrollment for the past two decades, due to several factors such as increasing cost of living, as well as housing and rental costs that make Santa Cruz County among the most expensive places to live in the nation.
In addition, most of the district’s schools are under capacity. All of this has led to a misalignment in staff and student numbers.
That is according to two consultants who laid out the scope of the problem for the PVUSD Board of Trustees on Feb. 29, as well as ways in which the district might address the problem.
Danyal Conolley, Associate VP School Services of California, said that, over the past decade, PVUSD has lost roughly 3,000 students, going from 18,368 in the 2013-14 year to last year, when it had 15,920.
That decline, she said, is expected to continue.
“We are in for the long-haul as it relates to the student trends that we are seeing in enrollment,” she said.
The problem is not limited to PVUSD. According to a December report by the Public Policy Institute of California, the state’s schools are projected to lose a half-million students by the 2031-32 school year.
Conolley’s presentation was intended to give PVUSD ideas of how they might “operationalize a response” to the crisis.
The trouble, according to Linette Hodson director of Management Consulting Services, is that every lost student means a decrease in per-pupil funding from the state, which makes up 65% of the district’s revenues.
With every student bringing in more than $14,000 in Average Daily Attendance funds, losing 120 students would mean an annual loss of $1.6 million, she said.
“Based on your trends, that’s not out of the realm of possibility for you,” Hodson said.
Reducing five teachers, she said, can save $485,000 every year.
Another problem, Conolley said, is that federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds—which went to schools to help with hiring during the Covid pandemic—are running out in September. And with nothing to replace that money, the district will be left to fund the positions themselves.
“What this has resulted in overall is a misalignment between the student levels that we currently have now, and our staffing needs,” Conolley said.
Both consultants said that the district could ameliorate the problem by looking at increasing class sizes, closing schools and reducing staffing levels, as well as looking at changes to salaries and benefits.
The consultants also said the district could save money by referring fewer students to costlier special education programs, a suggestion that drew criticism from Trustee Jen Holm.
“We need to be very cautious of making sure our students who need services are getting the services they need,” she said.
Another possibility presented was closing underpopulated schools, an option that comes with numerous complications, with questionable financial benefits.
“Don’t overestimate the ongoing savings of closing a campus,” Hodson said.
None of those options are currently on the table, although the discussion is reminiscent of the 2008 recession, when the district made numerous cuts.
The trustees made no decisions during the discussion-only item, and Board President Georgia Acosta was quick to say that no teacher layoffs are planned before the March 15 pink-slip deadline mandated by state law.
The discussion, she said, was to provide information for future conversations after the district hires a new superintendent and chief business officer, both of which are being filled by interim employees.
“There are no layoffs happening right now based on the budget,” Acosta said. “And there is no tie between tonight and the March 15 deadline.”
Still, Acosta acknowledged that the district will face “some very hard decisions” in the future.
“At the end of the day I hope the community is entrusting those they have elected, the seven of us … that we have the very best interest at heart.”
Glad I moved my kids out of PVUSD. Maybe if they taught them math or science instead of the fallacy that boys can become girls. The test scores are atrocious.
What an ignorant comment. I am a PVUSD teacher and there is no curriculum that teaches “the fallacy that boys can become girls.” There are plenty of valid criticisms that can be leveled at this district without introducing red herrings. Grow up, Jose.
Just because it isn’t in your curriculum, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. I witnessed it. No red herrings, just facts.
source?
trust me bro
I notice you didn’t reply about the test scores. I wonder why? You, as a teacher, are part of the problem.
The fact that the progressive flag is flown at schools for Harvey milk shows there is an open door for that conversation to happen. Teachers with rainbow flags in their classrooms and pins on their backpacks during fields trips shows me they will teach my child their disgusting views on sex. Don’t even get me started on the curriculum they were about to teach my child in sex Ed class in the 5th grade. Thank the lord my husband’s family is from a rural town where we love God, Family and Country. Commiefornia is not a place to raise children.
Sad to see PVUSD continuing to deteriorate. A lot of good teachers, but a lot of bad teachers as well. The outcome will continue to be negative for many students if we allow bad teachers and bad curriculum in the classroom. You add the lack of good parenting or lack of parenting in general and you have a recipe for disaster. Do not let the California’ school system raise your kids.
@TMR
Perhaps you should reread the Bible if you think God’s message is “be awful to everyone different than me.”
What’s the Bible say about homosexuals? 🧐
Harvey Milk was a known pedophile. Birds of a feather flock together I guess.
@SCV I’m not saying be awful to anyone. My husband and I teach our children to respect everyone. I’m saying I don’t want my children to know about adult things. Harvey milk and his lifestyle is adult things. That’s what is wrong with teacher’s like you. Y’all think that it’s okay to meddle in the teachings of our children. All we need you to do is teach the basics to set our children up for success. Introducing sexuality is not for teachers, it’s up to the parents to decide what we want them knowing as far as sex. PVUSD is failing and it shows maybe y’all should focus on educating in proper subjects.