Trustees at the Ramona Unified School District voted unanimously Thursday to send layoff notices to 12 classified and certificated staff members and keep 28 vacant positions unfilled as a way to cut the budget.
The cutbacks would affect about 18 certificated positions, including 10 general education elementary classroom teaching positions, a secondary math teacher, middle school librarian, secondary-level school counselor, art, science, P.E. and Spanish teachers, in addition to a school psychologist and teacher on special assignment.
Also affected would be 27 classified positions, including bus driver/dispatcher, campus safety officer, computer lab assistant and technician, custodians, expanded learning assistant, library technician, special education paraeducator and special education assistive technology specialist.
However, due to current and expected vacancies for some positions due to retirements and resignations, layoff notices effective at the end of this school year would only be sent to three certificated employees and nine classified employees, said Tony Newman, assistant superintendent of Human Resources Development.
“We worked hard to reduce the number of those immediately impacted with layoff notices,” Newman told trustees, adding that the reduction or elimination of services was recommended to address a budget shortfall.
School board President Daryn Drum said the district is projecting a deficit of $4.1 million for the 2026-27 school year and an additional $4.1 million for the 2027-28 school year. The planned layoffs would go into effect in the 2026-27 budget that is scheduled for adoption in June, he said.
The shortfall is driven by declining enrollment and high absenteeism, coupled with increased costs and ongoing deficit spending, Drum said.
“There are multiple factors contributing to the need for reductions,” Drum said in a Feb. 13 email. “The expiration of COVID relief funds, declining enrollment — which results in reduced revenue — and high absenteeism, which also impacts revenue, are significant drivers. In addition, rising costs associated with special education, health and welfare benefits, and other district operational expenses have contributed to ongoing deficit spending and the need to implement budget reductions.”
Cori McDonald, president of the Ramona Teachers Association who works as a librarian at Ramona High School, said while the job reductions may be necessary with the current budget, the district’s priorities are clear when looking at where the cuts are being made.
“Ramona Unified School District says student safety and instruction are the No. 1 focus for the district, yet most of these projected cuts are the people who have a direct impact on students,” McDonald said before the school board meeting. “Safety officers, librarians, and teachers are all listed but there is not one management position. This speaks volumes to our community and our staff and it says the district priority is actually far from what they say. What we say is, ‘Do better!’”
McDonald added that the school board recently approved vehicle stipends for administrators in the district that total $70,000 per year and additional monthly stipends for trustees of $1,200 to each school board member.
“Our libraries will be cut in half across the district,” she said. “This actually means elementary sites will only have a library tech for 10 hours per week total per site as they are already splitting part-time employees and laying off others.”
Interim Superintendent Leslie Wilson said at the meeting that one management position would be eliminated under the current plan.
About a dozen speakers voiced their objection to potential layoffs.
James Grizzle, a social science teacher at Ramona High, said he was concerned that nearly all the cutbacks are being made at the school site level but few cuts are being made at the district level.
“I understand cuts need to be made, but I don’t think these cuts are what’s best for the students or are equitable to the staff,” Grizzle said.
Kevin Sojourner, a father of three, said the district should invest in teachers, counselors and aides who work with students every day.
“Creating and preserving non-student centered roles while preserving management positions is not responsible,” Sojourner said.
Megan Guile, a library technician at Barnett Elementary School, asked the trustees not to take away the career she loves.
Guile told them she struggled with reading as a child and understands how life-changing literacy can be.
“At Barnett I have worked hard to create a library that is more than just a room full of books,” she said.
Drum said that by offering a retirement incentive, not filling certain positions made vacant over the past year, and reviewing all budgeted vacancies, district officials ensured that the majority of the positions being eliminated are currently vacant.
“In the worst-case scenario if we have to make layoffs, last night was the first step in the process,” he said.
In response to a question about class sizes and management levels, Wilson said Ramona Unified is currently lower than county and state mandates for class size student-to-teacher ratios and it is one of the leanest districts in terms of student-to-administrator ratios among similarly sized districts.
Newman told trustees that some of the laid-off employees may move into vacant positions, creating a domino effect of openings in those positions. Some adjustments could be made, and possibly some layoffs could be avoided, if student enrollment increases or class schedules are revised, he said.
Trustee Dawn Perfect noted the district’s enrollment has been declining in recent years, with roughly 100-plus fewer students each school year, and laying off workers is difficult when some of them are personal friends.
“I hope there is a way we can move forward and keep these very good people,” Perfect said. “The early retirement incentive was very well-received and we had a few people take advantage of that opportunity. Nobody wants to balance a budget at the expense of jobs, but that’s what we have to do.”