Pajaro Valley school board approves cutting 160 full-time positions.

After hours of deliberation in a packed meeting at Watsonville Civic Plaza, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees approved cutting nearly 160 full-time positions on Thursday, Dec. 11, impacting various departments including counseling, health and mental health, and special education. 

The board followed the staff’s recommendation. “These actions are essential to eliminate the structural deficit, restore long-term fiscal balance, and maintain the minimum Reserve for Economic Uncertainties in accordance with state requirements,” a report by PVUSD staff stated.

The Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, along with many parents and students, opposed this plan, organizing a rally before the meeting started. “Keep the cuts away from the classroom,” “Don’t cut special Ed!!!”, “Put students first” were written on some of the signs protesters carried at the corner of Main and Second streets in downtown Watsonville.

In a press release, PVFT representatives stated the layoff proposal “specifically targets our special education programs, increases class sizes, reduces student support, and weakens the educational experience for all learners,” noting the district has unrestricted reserves of $50.3 million.

Enrollment at PVUSD has declined nearly 20 percent over the past decade, and it has also exhausted $127 million in one-time Covid-19 relief funding that supported several of the positions that are at stake. 

For the 2026-2027 school year, the district reduced nearly 160 full-time positions, including:

• Teachers: 51.5  (different grade levels and subjects)

• Counselors: 15

• Part-Time Reading Intervention: 12.55

• Mental health clinicians: 13

• Instructional assistant general education: 10

• Instructional assistant general education: 15.5

• Instructional assistant mild/moderate disability: 7.5 

• Instructional assistant, moderate/severe disability: 7.5

• Behavior Technician: 25