Sonoma Valley school district board eliminates 36 jobs

The Sonoma Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to eliminate 24 certificated positions — including seven full-time secondary school teachers and six full-time elementary school teachers — as well as 12 classified positions in the 2024-25 school year.

Board members reached the decision at its regular monthly meeting, which included brief presentations by Rena Seifts, associate superintendent of business services for the district, and Kristin Ugrin, the human resources director.

An extensive discussion among board members followed, and concerns about the cuts to certificated staff were expressed by 54 district teachers, staff members students, parents and community members.

“We were extremely disappointed with the lack of collaboration on the district’s part in deciding these cuts as well as the lack of transparency on why these positions were chosen to be cut,” said Dennis Housman, co-president of Valley of the Moon Teachers Association. “Decisions like this shake up the entire educational community.

“We wish that before making proposals or decisions, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District administration would have engaged all our stakeholders — teachers, parents, students, nurses, counselors and community members — to discuss how to right-size the school district while still offering the best education possible for our students.”

The cuts (see sidebar) were proposed in two separate agenda items — one involving certificated employees and one pertaining to classified employees. These would have decreased the district’s expenditures by about $4.5 million.

Financial cuts are necessary because the district’s revenue dropped from $75 million last fiscal year to an estimated $67.5 million now. This was caused by the end of COVID-19 funding, grants that have ended and projected economic conditions.

“Also, the district’s reserves have decreased by $3.4 million, primarily due to administrative errors and fiscal mismanagement that resulted from our failure to impose rigor by balancing the budget annually,” said Trustee John Kelly. “As a trustee, it’s critical for us to insist on balanced budgets with reasonable financial forecasts going forward.”

After the discussion, board members decided not to make some cuts that were proposed in the agenda items: four full-time Teacher on Special Assignment intervention teachers, one part-time choir and band teacher, four part-time special education instructional assistants, and three full-time and two part-time library media specialists.

“After receiving numerous emails and public comments from students, staff and parents, the board modified both lists of proposed staffing reductions,” said Troy Knox, president of the district’s board of trustees. “Our school community’s passionate response to the proposed cuts gave the board greater insight and an even deeper appreciation for the impact these positions have on our students.“

This reduced the savings originally proposed by the cuts by about $575,000 for certificated positions and $315,000 for classified positions. This includes two full-time and six part-time positions that are currently vacant. The total savings now are around $2.5 million.

The district will need to find other ways to save this money by May 15 to satisfy legal requirements. On Jan. 16, the Sonoma County Office of Education sent an email to the district confirming its self-certified status as “qualified” in its 2023-24 first interim report.

According to the California Education Code, this means that the district may be unable to meet its financial obligations for the rest of the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years.

The district’s first interim report projects unrestricted deficit spending of $4.8 million in 2023-24, $1.8 million in 2024-25 and $171,000 in 2025-26.

“The State minimum reserve for economic uncertainty is not met in any year,” SCOE’s email states. “Deficit spending is of concern to the County and the elimination of structural deficit spending is critical in order to maintain required levels and avoid fiscal insolvency.

“Therefore, we urge the District to review and monitor revenues and expenditures, embrace best practices and budget to live within your means.”

During the discussion among board members and the public comment period, concerns were expressed that the cuts were proposed by the district administration without necessary input from the school district community, including the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association.

Board members want to obtain additional input not only regarding the approximately $890,000 that still needs to be cut, but also pertaining to the cuts that were approved. The board’s consensus is to consider all options for all positions.

“The board recognizes that more work needs to be done,” Knox said. “We look to form a budget action committee so we can work collaboratively with our school community in identifying additional cuts.”

Employees whose positions are eliminated will need to be notified by the district no later than Friday, March 15, 2024.

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.