Novato school district takes step toward layoffs, reduced hours

The Novato Unified School District plans to issue preliminary layoff or reduced hours warning notices to more than four dozen teachers and other staff for the 2026-27 school year.

Trustees unanimously approved the notices, known as “pink slips,” at their board meeting on Tuesday. The state deadline for public school districts to issue such warnings is March 15.

“There is a lot of decision-making here,” trustee Deb Butler said before the vote. “We understand there is a human being behind each position. It’s hard.”

Francesca Whitcomb, the district’s employment director, said the layoffs and reduced hours are needed because of a $9.2 million budget deficit this fiscal year and a projected $2.3 million shortfall for 2026-27. The budget this year is about $138.4 million.

“We don’t have the full picture yet,” Whitcomb said. “This is only a snapshot.”

Final decisions on layoffs or reduced hours will not be made until May, she said.

Whitcomb said the warning notices could be changed or even withdrawn before March 15 if the district learns of additional retirements, resignations or other attrition. Staff with seniority could move to vacated positions if their jobs are being cut, she said.

“Our hope is that not too many of our staff will be receiving a notice of layoff,” she said.

Whitcomb said more than half of the layoffs in both certificated and classified staff are because of declining enrollment. The district enrollment is 7,119 students, down about 100 to 120 from the average for the prior three years, according to Joshua Braff, the district’s chief finance officer.

The district is funded by per-student subsidies from the state based on average daily attendance.

Other budget pressures include uncertainty in state and federal funding, escalating costs and the district’s relatively low parcel tax rate of $251. The rate is the lowest among Marin public school districts, and it is one of the few without annual increases.

Trustee Abbey Picus said she is concerned about the elimination of the multilingual coordinator position.

“The need for this position is not going away,” she said. “Are we looking at reorganizing the structure here?”

Superintendent Tracy Smith said she expects there will be promotions “to take over the leadership role” in that area.

Whitcomb said the replacement plan has not yet been finalized.

“We still have to talk about where that work is going to go,” she said.

Whitcomb said the district administration has had conversations with most, if not all, the employees affected by the possible layoffs and reduced hours, as well as with their respective union leaders.

The list of 53 jobs in jeopardy includes 35 teachers, counselors, education specialists and other certificated positions. Also affected are 18 classified staff positions, including eight supported by specialized funding that is expiring and 10 supported by the district’s general fund.

The specialized funding classified positions include four paraeducators, an administrative assistant for the bond program, a “wellness hub navigator,” a library media specialist and a community school program lead.

The classified positions covered by the general fund include four transitional kindergarten paraeducators, three custodians, one director of communications, one payroll technician and one groundskeeper.

Whitcomb said the classified transitional kindergarten paraeducator cuts and at least one of the special education paraeducator reductions are “tied to the corresponding certificated position reductions.”

The district has about 800 employees, eight elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools.