Salinas City Elementary board approves eliminating 61 full-time classified positions.

A group of about 40 people protested outside the Salinas City Elementary School District administrative building on Tuesday, March 10 prior to a school board meeting.

They were there to oppose the proposed elimination of classified staff positions. 

They held signs with messages including, “Students need staff,” “Stand up for school essential workers, and “Support classified!” Chants includes, “Cut from the top not from the bottom.”

The board voted 3-2, with Art Galimba and Jessica Powell dissenting, to eliminate 61 full-time positions. 

“Our district gave administration raises, teachers got raises, and we are still waiting for our fair share and unfortunately, they're proposing layoffs instead,” Connie Rojas Bahri, president of the SCESD’ classified union CSEA chapter 149, said before the meeting started. “A lot of us still don't know who the affected employees are,” she adds. 

The district eliminated 88 positions in total; of those, 46 are currently vacant, meaning 42 currently filled positions are affected. (SCESD representatives add that the district currently has more than 60 vacant positions that can be filled by any employees who potentially may receive a pink slip with a layoff notice.) 

Susana Mancera-Juárez, assistant superintendent of human resources, told the board several of the positions eliminated were funded with one-time funding, part of which was Covid-19 relief funding.

"While those positions were never meant to be permanent, the district continued to fund them for the past two years because it was clear students were still affected by the pandemic and needed extra support in the classroom," says Mary Duan, SCESD's director of communication and outreach, via email. 

“We tried to stretch it as much as possible, but at this point, it's not doable,” Mancera-Juárez told the board.