Santa Barbara Unified Lays Off 15, Demotes Eight on National Teachers’ Day

Layoffs in the Santa Barbara Unified School District cast a shadow over National Teachers’ Day this Tuesday. 

The air in the boardroom was heavy as the school board voted 5-0 to eliminate 11 classified employees and the full-time equivalent of 12 teacher and counselor positions on Tuesday night, saving the district a little more than $1.9 million. 

Four teachers will be laid off, while the eight remaining teachers and counselors will be bumped down to lower positions. 

Sixty public commenters signed up to speak during Tuesday’s board meeting  — many of them educators, and many of them frustrated about the reductions in force. 

“Teachers lost their trust and faith in this district a long time ago,” said art teacher Devon Espejo. “And an increasing number of parents and students have also lost their trust in this board as well.”

The layoffs come in the midst of a heated dispute between the district and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA) over a new contract. Last month, their mediation process ended without a resolution on wages, making a teachers strike appear more likely if they cannot reach an agreement by the end of the year. The district’s next meeting with the SBTA is scheduled for June 12, the second-to-last day of school.

While the classified educators being laid off are not represented by SBTA, as they are not technically “classroom teachers,” support for them came from all corners of the district’s workforce, as well as students and community members. 

Kristen Bollingmo, a STEAM teacher at Harding University Partnership School, said she is currently on maternity leave, with Tuesday night being the first time she missed bath time with her newborn baby. 

“The teachers are showing up to these board meetings — we all have really important things going on at home, but we’re here,” she said, choking back tears. She added that her colleague was recently pink-slipped while he was on paternity leave and is now considering moving out of town for work. 

“Just know that we are real people. We are here; we’re showing up,” she continued. “Please show up with the same enthusiasm and respect.” 

Classified teacher positions being cut include a program facilitator for special education, instructional support specialists, teachers on special assignment, elementary multi-tiered system of support teachers, and counselors and early childhood education teachers. 

The classified staff layoffs include positions such as youth outreach workers, a human resources specialist, campus safety assistants, crisis care specialists, and family engagement liaisons.

Pink-slipped employees did not comment at the recent meeting. But colleagues and parents spoke on their behalf, emphasizing the importance of their positions for campus safety, student preparedness, and academic and emotional support. Attendees held signs and instruments left over from the “wake” held outside prior to the meeting. 

“We are losing educators today,” said SBTA president Hozby Galindo. “We’re losing positions that positively impact our students and educators…. They play a critical role; I hope that you see that, because the rest of the community sees it.” 

Speakers also pointed out the large gap between staff and top admin salaries, and teachers have repeatedly called on the district to reduce costs in the superintendent’s cabinet, who make a combined $2 million in salary and benefits. 

However, John Becchio, assistant superintendent of human resources, said in the past that cuts to admin salaries would “not move the needle too much on our budget.” 

On Tuesday, he reiterated the district’s reasons for the layoffs in his presentation to the board, including the expiration of COVID-19 relief funds or grants, ongoing labor negotiations involving an anticipated $35 million in new spending over the next two years, declining enrollment, and the state budget’s projected $23 billion deficit.  

He also reminded the board that around 120 positions received precautionary layoff notices in March, but a vast majority of those were ultimately rescinded. 

Final notices will go out prior to May 15, and human resources will “make contact with each person individually who loses their job to determine what options they are pursuing and assistance.”

Laid-off and bumped employees will be placed on a 39-month reemployment list in the case that positions become available. In addition, Becchio said that human resources will continue to work with CSEA regarding impacts and placements.

Earlier in the meeting, the board approved the district’s recognition and designation of the third full week of May (May 19-25) as Classified School Employee Week. 

“We’re in difficult times, and I realize that. It’s not lost on this board,” said board president Wendy Sims-Moten. “We’re in this together.” 

Boardmember Gabe Escobedo emphasized the “gravity” of the situation the district is in with compounded budget issues, which is a trend across the state, but said it “doesn’t make this reality any less difficult.”

“These are not decisions that anyone has taken lightly,” he said. “For those that are affected, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the work that they have done and the commitment they’ve shown to supporting our students.”