Superintendent Dr. Damon Wright stood before a room full of hurt and frustrated students, staff, and community members to explain his very unpopular layoff plans. The presentation at the Thursday, Feb. 12 Santa Clara Unified Board of Trustees meeting wasn’t the final plan; that will come to the next board meeting. After that, the initial layoff notices will start to roll out.
The Plan
Dr. Wright made it clear that this is his plan, and the plan is to fix a $30 million structural deficit with rightsizing, aka layoffs. It’s not a secret that enrollment is declining and the district is overstaffed. He said they’re trying to be fair and are following California Education Codes and union collective bargaining agreements.
According to Board President Bonnie Lieberman, the district received a letter from the Santa Clara County Office of Education saying they must address their growing pattern of deficit spending. Otherwise, they’ll be put on a fiscal stabilization plan.
How did we get here? During the COVID-19 pandemic, the district received one-time funding, which was invested in students to help them through that time. There was also a staffing shortage, and the district increased compensation by 17.25% over three years to remain competitive. On the other side of the pandemic, they are faced with a $30 million deficit and declining enrollment while staffing levels remain high. A graph showed that since 2017, the district has increased by 515 staff members but decreased by 1206 students.
In June 2025, Mark Schiel, Deputy Superintendent / Chief Business Official, projected a $42.3 million deficit for the 2025-2026 school year and a $30 million deficit for the 2026-2027 school year. In December 2025, the first interim multi-year projections showed the deficit increased.
In December 2025, the district met with staff who would likely be impacted by the layoffs. Since then, the Santa Clara Unified community has been desperately advocating to save these people’s jobs.
So, who’s losing their jobs? The district currently has 1,056.95 certificated FTEs (full-time employee equivalent) and, according to the presentation, 113.3 will be cut. There are 1,016.25 classified FTEs, and the plan is to lay off 40. Out of 119.4 FTEs in management, they will lay off 15. These figures are before they consider natural attrition (i.e., resignations, retirements, etc.).
Based on 2026-2027 projected enrollment and staffing ratios, there will be a reduction of 23 FTE elementary teachers, 12.3 FTE middle school teachers, and 20 FTE high school teachers. There will also be a reduction of 27.5 FTE district-level TOSAs, seven FTE counselors, and two FTE psychologists. The list of positions on the chopping block was attached to the meeting agenda.
With the projected enrollment and next year’s staffing, the average districtwide class sizes would be 18.5 TK students per teacher, 21.4 kindergarten students per teacher, 21.9 first – third graders per teacher, and 25.4 fourth and fifth graders per teacher.
Dr. Wright said they have been listening and have already made changes to the plan. For example, they added back 4 FTE elementary teachers to reduce combo classes at Title 1 schools.
The Public Speaks
When the community got its chance to speak, they advocated for positions near and dear to their schools. Young students from Don Callejon Arts and Design School are worried about their kindergarten and middle school teachers. Their art and design teachers are also at risk, and students who picked this school for its art and design focus are concerned.
Joseph Volta, a fifth grader at Sutter Elementary, spoke passionately about his father’s legacy as a PE TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) and coach.
“About a year and a half ago, my dad passed away,” said Joseph. “PE is not just about sports or exercise. For me, PE is a place where I feel known, supported, and connected to my dad.”
According to the presentation, seven FTE elementary PE teachers and seven elementary PE paras will be laid off. This means the PE teachers who are left will need to cover more school sites. Joseph’s mom, Diana, recalled when her late husband, Phillip Volta, was responsible for five sites. For the sake of the teachers and students, she asked the board to limit PE teachers to two sites with a home site.
Though the presentation boasts that there will be no layoffs in special education, that same presentation states the district is reducing two FTE special education program specialists, three FTE elementary special education teachers, 11.5 FTE secondary special education teachers, 12 special education paras, and five behavior technicians. Teachers are worried about their most vulnerable students.
The community is still concerned about programs like the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program and the Young Parent Center Program. Community members from many schools, including Pomeroy, Montague, and Bowers Elementary schools, came to advocate for their staff and students.
The Superintendent claims they can’t slow down, but the community was not convinced. Many still believe that these cuts don’t have to happen at once and can be spread out over two or three years, like other districts are doing. Dr. Wright says if they don’t act now, the county oversight will increase, and they will relive this trauma year after year.
“Delaying action this year would increase our deficit in outer years, increase the amount of reductions in outer years, and impact our reserves,” said Dr. Wright. “This year we have the opportunity to position ourselves for long-term fiscal health.”
What Next?
Schiel said they will continue to review enrollment projections and adapt based on actual enrollment.
Dr. José González, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, said that this cycle, they will be laying off 39.9 FTE elementary staff, 18.5 FTE secondary staff, six FTE elementary PE teachers, six FTE secondary school academic counselors, and one FTE special education psychologist.
The district mainly uses the “last-in, first-out” rule. This means the least senior employee in a specific classification or credential area is laid off first. However, there are bumping rights where senior employees on the chopping block can bump less senior employees in other classifications if they are also qualified/credentialed. Laid-off employees will be added to a preferential rehire list, and they have first right of refusal if a position opens.
According to California Education Code and layoff laws, initial layoff notices must go out by March 15. Within seven days, employees can request a formal hearing, and by May 7, an Administrative Law Judge will make a decision. By May 17, the School Board will make the final call and serve final layoff notices.
The meeting went until one in the morning to give everyone a chance to speak and carry on with the rest of the Board agenda. There will be one more chance to be involved in this process. At the Thursday, Feb. 26 meeting, staff will bring recommendations, including resolutions for approval. Meetings are live-streamed on the District’s YouTube page, and agendas are posted on their website.
You can find the presentation with all the figures at https://santaclarausd.community.highbond.com/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=365
There is more information on the “rightsizing” process on the District’s website: https://www.santaclarausd.org/about-us/departments/fiscal-services/district-financial-reports/what-is-rightsizing
How many jobs could they save by replacing some of their highest earners (Like Mark Shiel and Michelle Healy) with lower salaried employees? They could save costs and acquire much better humans. Win/win. Bet there are others like them.
Mark said no way they could look at pay cuts or raise freezes? Is that because he just doesn’t want a freeze or cut? I’m pretty sure even with a cut it’s still more money than an unemployment check.
Why attack people? Should teachers make the same as custodians? All salaries are different. Instead of attacking people, advocate for the positions you think should stay. Being a good human does not include attacking people based on salary. All employees work for the kids no matter their position.
Sometimes facts hurt. These are not people who are there for the kids, that’s truly an issue when they are just there for a salary.
SC has such a high number of employees that commute from long distances because they are known to have some of the highest salaries in the area. You would think it would equate to a higher level of service, but it doesn’t.
As for the great Mr. Shiel, if he was so concerned about the budget, how does he go before the board for a raise at the start of this year, then immediately after in the same meeting bring up the budget issues and the need for rightsizing?
Mr Schiel has saved taxpayers of SCUSD millions of dollars via the refunding of school bonds – like refinancing your mortgage – so as a taxpayer in the district I am grateful for his work. I agree with Reality. Why attack people? Everyone in SCUSD is there for kids even if you don’t always agree with them.
The district has clearly been overspending and over hiring since the beginning of the pandemic with board and superintendent approval. That’s ok if everyone knows which roles are temporary (based on one time funding).
It’s less responsible for the board (and district staff) to have not pre-planned on how to unwind their spending. Just hoping for more property tax increases was a weak plan.
The currently proposed levels of cuts are still not enough to stop deficit spending for the next few years.
It’s important to make these cuts now and to not spend every single board meeting for the next five year avoiding cuts while spending excessively from reserves.
Salary info https://transparentcalifornia.com/