East Side Union High School District\u2019s board of education will vote on whether to layoff dozens of staff dedicated to protecting students\u2019 mental health, wellbeing and safety Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The proposed layoffs \u2014 about $6.5 million according to the district\u2019s teachers union \u2014 would cut around 85 full-time positions, including eight counselors, seven social workers and five campus safety advisors, as well as several wellness center clerks, parent outreach coordinators and special education teachers, among others.<\/p>\n
The vote comes as the district faces insolvency and a $9 million budget deficit for the 2026-27 school year.\n<\/p>\n
But educators say the proposed cuts will harm the district\u2019s most vulnerable students, who rely on the staff and services poised to be cut.<\/p>\n
Jack Hamner, the president of the East Side Teachers Association, said 70% of the district\u2019s students are English language learners, homeless, foster youth or low income and can\u2019t afford to lose access to counselors, social workers and advisors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are some severely needy kids. They need their support systems more than ever,\u201d Hamner said. \u201cThe positions they\u2019re cutting, these are the mental health and wellness services that our kids desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an advisor at James Lick,\u00a0Roberta Cabigas said her role on campus is to make sure everyone leaves alive at the end of the school day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are responsible for everyone\u2019s well-being,\u201d Cabigas said. \u201cWe\u2019re kind of like a clearinghouse for problems. \u2026 If kids don\u2019t feel safe, they don\u2019t learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabigas, who has worked in the district for 28 years, said she\u2019s responsible for everything from tracking daily attendance and supporting struggling students to breaking up fights and handling intruders on campus property.<\/p>\n
\u201cI teach my kids\u2019 kids at this point. They\u2019re like my grandkids,\u201d Cabigas said. \u201cA couple of my kids have come back to me with shocking stories (saying) \u2018yeah, you saved my life that day.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabigas said she and one other advisor are currently responsible for about 800 kids on campus. But if the proposed cuts are approved, she said she could be responsible for upward of 1,100 kids and would be expected to split her days between campuses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be violence out there,\u201d Cabigas said. \u201cWho\u2019s going to respond to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Social workers, counselors and school safety advisors in the district said that if approved, the cuts would threaten the district\u2019s wellness centers \u2014 facilities where students can go to de-stress and access mental health services \u2014 as well as double the workload, increase wait times for services and limit the number of students who can be helped.<\/p>\n
One counselor in the district \u2014 who requested anonymity out of fear of professional retaliation \u2014 said she and seven other counselors stand to lose their jobs if the cuts are approved. But more importantly, students will lose access to regular help with academic planning, course selection, financial aid assistance and college applications at a time of immense fear and uncertainty for many students and families in the district, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had students who come in that worry about their future. I have first-generation students that are concerned about what next year looks like,\u201d she said. \u201cKids don\u2019t schedule their crisis. \u2026 And if that counselor\u2019s not there, they need to find someone else and everyone is stretched thin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed cuts at East Side Union High School District come as school districts across the Bay Area are facing multimillion-dollar budget gaps<\/a> and being forced to choose which programs to cut, staff to lay-off or schools to close to remain fiscally solvent. Oakland Unified School District currently faces a $50 million budget deficit<\/a> for the 2026-27 school year, while Alum Rock Union School District<\/a> and Franklin-McKinley School District<\/a> turned to school closures last year in an attempt to tackle $20 million budget deficits.<\/p>\n Hamner, the teacher\u2019s union president, said the union understands cuts need to be made, but they should be spread evenly throughout the district, not on crucial student services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not asking them to not cut anything, but we\u2019re asking them to wise up and take some reduction on administrators,\u201d Hamner said. \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to be student centered and focused on what our students need.\u201d<\/p>\n The board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. online and in-person at 830 N Capitol Avenue.<\/p>\n This is a developing story. Check back for updates. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"East Side Union High School District\u2019s board of education will vote on whether to layoff dozens of staff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,8,10150,15,4730,181,23,100,385,88,90,89,198,30515,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-145583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-east-san-jose","12":"tag-education","13":"tag-k-12-education","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-local-news","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-regional","18":"tag-san-jose","19":"tag-san-jose-headlines","20":"tag-san-jose-news","21":"tag-santa-clara-county","22":"tag-school-boards-measures","23":"tag-south-bay"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}