The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board on Wednesday will consider a plan to cut roughly 100 of its 1,927 employees, including special ed, science and performing arts teachers.
Among the proposed cuts are 80 certificated positions, including 12 elementary release teachers, eight elementary intervention teachers, four high school science teachers and two visual and performing arts teachers.
In addition, the proposal calls for cutting roughly 19 classified positions, including 10 instructional assistants.
The board will also consider approving a one-time $10,000 retirement incentive for teachers who are 60 years or older.
The decision comes to the trustees after a meeting on Jan. 17, when they agreed on a plan to cut more than $5 million to balance the district budget after the loss of one-time Covid funding.
Those funds came from the state to help students with issues related to online instruction.
The meeting is scheduled for 6pm in the Watsonville City Council chambers, located on the fourth floor of the city governmental building at 275 Main St. in Watsonville.
During a special meeting on Jan. 31, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees appointed a new member to fill the seat left vacant when Kim De Serpa resigned to begin her role as a county supervisor.
The board interviewed two candidates who applied to serve Trustee Area 1, which covers the northern part of the district including Aptos High and Aptos Junior High schools, along with Mar Vista, Bradley and Valencia elementary schools.
After a failed 3–3 vote to appoint Nubia Padilla—an appointment requires four votes—the board voted 4-1 for Flynn, with Trustee Gabriel Medina abstaining and Daniel Dodge Jr. dissenting.
Flynn’s experience includes serving on the Second Harvest Food Bank Board trustee, the Santa Cruz County Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Circle on Anti-Racism, Social and Economic Justice.
She also served as a trustee on the Pacific Collegiate School District Board.
