Millions in budget cuts for West Contra Costa schools stir concerns for students, staff, families

RICHMOND — Millions more in budget cuts are coming to West Contra Costa Unified School District where officials continue to grapple with how to balance a budget and meet the needs of students, staff and the community.

Faced with a three-year deficit of $127 million, the district’s Board of Education had to make what Board President Guadalupe Enllana described in a statement as an incredibly difficult decision during a meeting Wednesday.

In addition to emptying a reserves fund and borrowing from a retiree health fund, district electeds agreed to reduce staffing, merge two middle schools, and end the kindergarten through eighth grade model, according to a Fiscal Solvency Plan trustees adopted Wednesday.

“Our responsibility is to stabilize the district’s finances while continuing to support students and staff. Taking action now allows us to maintain local control and make these decisions with community voices at the table,” Enllana said.

An initial $60.4 million in reductions are expected to occur in fiscal year 2026-27. Nearly $23 million will come from reserve and retiree benefit funds, $5.1 million from reducing materials, supplies, services and contracts, $15.1 million in reduced staffing through attrition and $17.3 million from department restructuring.

Another $27.2 million in cuts are planned for fiscal year 2027-28, again from borrowing from the retiree health fund in addition to reductions in some contracts, school and special education programming, central department, and technology.

Students from Betty Reid Soskin Middle School will be moved to Pinole Middle School as the campuses are merged, and middle schoolers currently at a K-8 campus will be moved to a middle school campus.

“The impacts of all of these concepts are real and they’re deeply personal for our students, our staff and our families,” said Katherine Acosta-Verprauskus, associate superintendent of teaching and learning. “However, it’s our responsibility to move through this moment with care, keeping district financial stability at the forefront while doing all we can do to support strong instruction, meaningful programs and the wellbeing of the students we serve.”

While the vote was unanimous, Trustee Jamela Smith-Folds criticized the majority of her colleagues who approved new contracts with two of the district’s labor groups, United Teachers of Richmond and Teamsters Local 856, the union representing custodial staff, cafeteria workers and others.

The union earned an 8% raise paid over two years and additional benefits after jointly striking in December.

Smith-Folds voted in favor of the Teamsters contract but joined Trustee Leslie Reckler in opposition to the agreement with United Teachers of Richmond. During Wednesday’s meeting, Smith-Folds said board members knew that yes votes for the contracts would lead to layoffs, campus mergers and other cuts.

No alternative plans have been brought forward to prevent those budget solutions, she said, arguing politics, not leadership, has landed the district in its current position.

“The first thing to do is to stop playing in the community’s face like there’s an alternative budget plan on the table to pay for promises the majority of you made,” Smith-Folds said. “We have to make opportunities out of chaos now. There is no choice.”

United Teachers of Richmond President Francsico Ortiz warned trustees that greater instability could plague the district if alignment efforts come at the cost of existing staff or beloved programming. District finances are, in large part, driven by enrollment, and students are more likely to come to school when enriching extracurriculars and trusted adults are on campus, he said.

Underscoring Ortiz’s argument, students lined up during Wednesday’s meeting to explain just how important people like librarians and programs like band are to their development.

Richmond High School student and marching band member Bella Mariscal said her ability to speak up for music programs is directly linked to her experience playing an instrument on stage.

“Without music I would not have found my confidence, my community or myself,” Mariscal said. “When we remove music from an elementary school, we are not just cutting a program. We are taking away opportunity, we are silencing potential, we are closing doors before children even know they exist.”

With a music programming grant about to run out, the district has proposed campuses use some of the $4 million campuses get from Proposition 28, a state tax that funds the arts in schools, to help fill the gap. That could mean school administrators will have hard decisions of their own on what programs to offer.

Making hard decisions isn’t new to the West Contra Costa Unified School District.

Officials have been grappling with multi-million dollar deficits for decades, having been the first district in the state to declare bankruptcy and be bailed out with a $28.5 million loan from the state in 1991.

The loan was repaid in 2012, but the district has continued to make budget cuts to remain financially stable and retain local control. A previous fiscal solvency plan, entered into under pressure from the Contra Costa County Office of Education, called for $32.7 million in reductions to be made between the 2024-25 and 2026-27 school years.

Dipping enrollment and rising labor and operational costs have led to revenue not keeping up with expenses, district office staff have routinely said. A total of 24,792 students are currently enrolled in the district, compared to 28,247 pre-pandemic.

Campus faculty and staff have long warned that the district cannot cut its way out of its budget crisis. Unions have encouraged leadership to review contract spending, a request trustees plan to pursue. They agreed during Wednesday’s meeting to temporarily bring back a contract review committee whose two members will be appointed by the board president.

Renewing Measure T, a 2016 parcel tax that charges homeowners 7.2 cents per square foot of building area, is also on the table. Depending on survey results, the district may consider asking voters to increase the parcel tax, which currently brings in about $9.8 million of revenue annually.

Promised revenue in the state budget for things like special education, professional development, learning recovery and community schools could also help prevent future hits from becoming reality.

Whatever decisions lie ahead for the district, staff and community members broadly agreed that better transparency around district finances and clearer communication and collaboration on decision making will be vital.

“I don’t know all the ins and outs on how to solve the fiscal challenges we’re having,” said Betty Reid Soskin Middle School Principal Jason Lau. “I just hope that whatever happens, our community, the community that has been vocal about what makes the most sense for them, is well taken care of.”