Photo: Arcata School District.

###

PREVIOUSLY:

###

I would like to address the recent cuts approved by the Arcata School District Board reported in the Lost Coast Outpost. There are three aspects of the cuts I want to be sure are clear to LoCO readers and especially our staff and families.

First and foremost is that the board and district leadership value each and every one of our students and the teachers and staff that serve and support them. I am very proud to serve on the board and honored to get to see the hard work and dedication of ASD staff to providing the best possible education to our students, even in the most trying times. That is why we used one time Covid-related money to hire additional support staff, including classroom aides, reading and math intervention specialists, and additional school psychologist staffing. The people who filled these positions helped our students recover from disruptions caused by the pandemic. That is why the district set aside funds when possible over the past few years to extend these positions beyond the life of their original funding source.

Second, the two priorities driving decisions about which positions to cut were minimizing the number of staff affected and minimizing the impact on our students. Half of the positions reported in the LoCO were for 1 on 1 Aides for students who will no longer be in the district next year or no longer need the service. The 1 on 1 Aides provide services to specific students, and regardless of the district’s financial situation, these positions would be released. If additional students at one of our schools need a 1 on 1 Aide, ASD will create additional positions as needed.

Three of the positions were cut because they had been added with grant money to address specific, short-term needs. The Family Services Coordinator helped connect district families with community services during pandemic. This need has reduced coming out of the pandemic. If the position is unable to be restored, ASD now has a Family Resource Center Director who will ensure that the Family Resource Center continues to support our students and their families. Our Teacher on Special Assignment position paid for one of our teachers to work on a School Climate Improvement Grant that ended last year. That teacher will return to the classroom next year. While we would have liked to retain these positions further beyond their grant funding, doing so would have come at the cost of having to cut positions, like the reading intervention specialist, that directly interact with and serve our students on a daily basis. The district added an Education Specialist with Covid-related and other temporary funding to provide specialized instruction for students with disabilities. It was good to have lower caseloads coming out of the pandemic, but we now need to return to previous staffing levels with funding running out and a large group of special education students graduating onto the high school.

The last position is a vacant AES Teacher position for 2025/2026. In deciding on this position, we considered that a couple of our grade levels at Arcata Elementary have particularly small class sizes. Students at Arcata Elementary will continue to have an average class size under 20 students, with both a teacher and paraprofessional support in each class.

Third, California state law requires that notices are given to staff whose positions may be in jeopardy by March 15th. However, the state does not finalize its budget (which is the main source of revenue paying for our schools) until June. We have reason to be hopeful that the district will receive additional funds from state and federal grants for the 2025/2026 school year that will allow us to keep some of these positions. Unfortunately, because those funds are not guaranteed now, initial layoff notices have to be given assuming the worst. Increased enrollment next year would also lead to positions being retained or added to meet the needs of our students. The board and district leadership truly regret the stress caused to those staff receiving initial layoff notices. It is a case of a well-intended law having unintended consequences.

I would also like to address the other side of our budget deficit, revenues. The board heard from both teachers and parents questions about why no cuts were made to the district office. Superintendent Biesecker addressed this in detail for the board and others attending our March board meeting. Our district office serves not only the two public schools located in the district (Arcata Elementary and Sunny Brae Middle School) but also four charter schools. Our oversight responsibility to the charter schools has significantly increased in the past couple of years. The charter schools pay for the services the district office provides them, covering 70% of District Office expenses. If the district office were to reduce staff, we would have to reduce services to the charter schools, leading to a loss of funding without reducing the budget deficit. We would still need to layoff other staff. Superintendent Biesecker did point out that our budget reduction plans do include shifting more of the costs associated with the district office to the charter schools to reflect the additional work we provide to meet our oversight responsibilities.

Sincerely Yours,

Brian Hudgens
President Arcata School District Board of Trustees