The Berkeley school board approved layoffs of roughly 20 district employees Wednesday night amid a tightening state education budget.
Berkeley Unified School District directors voted 3-2 vote to approve the layoffs during a stretch of relative austerity from the state. The positions include staff at the Office of Family Engagement and Equity, campus aides and instructional assistants. No teacher positions were put on the chopping block.
Staff doing family engagement defended their work before the board Wednesday. “We work directly with our most marginalized and vulnerable populations,” Carol Perez, who works at the Office of Family Engagement and Equity focusing on mental health, told the school board directors Wednesday night. “[They] need more support, not less.”
Directors Laura Babitt, Ka’Dijah Brown and Mike Chang approved the layoffs, while Ana Vasudeo and Jennifer Shanoski voted against them.
After years of pandemic windfall, the school district faces $7.1 million in budget cuts. Stagnant state funding, the end of COVID-19 relief money and staff raises are all spelling budget shortfalls for districts across the state.
Compared to other districts, BUSD isn’t in such bad shape: In March, Berkeley voters renewed a parcel tax that brings in a third of the district’s funds, and enrollment, which has declined statewide, has begun to tick upward.
Still, BUSD has not had to contend with layoffs like this in years.
“This is a very hard and unusual time and something that’s really new for Berkeley,” said Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel.
Shanoski criticized the decision, arguing that the cuts should be made in positions that have a less direct impact on students.
“These are positions and people that have very direct relationships with students,” Shanoski said at the school board meeting. “We always say that we want to cut as far away from student experience as possible, and I feel like this is not in alignment with that.”
The layoffs could still be rescinded if the school district finds a way to fund the positions. The state’s education budget still isn’t final — lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom could choose to increase the amount of money to schools — and the board hopes the PTA will fund more positions.
“This is a legal requirement of notices. This is not our intent or our heart,” Babitt said.
Early notices like this are new, said Samantha Tobias-Espinoza, head of human resources at BUSD.
They are the result of a change to the California Education Code requiring school districts to notify staff of layoffs by May 15. That puts districts in a tough spot, some say, since Newsom’s education budget will likely change throughout the summer. The layoffs will likely prompt staff to look for jobs elsewhere, even if funding for their positions could still come through.
Initially, the district proposed laying off even more positions, including a restorative justice coordinator, attendance specialist and other staff in the Office of Family Engagement and Equity and the cooking and gardening program. But, the district managed to find more funds and stave off those cuts before the deadline.
“We are hoping that we will continue to rescind these,” Tobias-Espinoza said at the board meeting.
