Faced with declining revenue, North Monterey County schools cut staff.

No one said it was going to be an easy conversation to have, but North Monterey County Unified School District finally brought its major money issue to the public. The district has been $500,000 over-budget for the last three years, according to NMCUSD Superintendent Kari Yeater. Like many local school districts, NMCUSD’s costs are rising and revenue is declining: The district’s retirement costs for staff and faculty (CalPERS and CalSTRS, respectively) are going up every year and the district’s primary stream of revenue, based on average daily attendance, is dropping.

“It’s a balancing act,” Yeater says. “We need to cut $1.5 million to reduce deficit spending.”

In a board meeting on Feb. 28, Yeater and the board announced what this balancing act would look like: restructuring and districtwide cuts to staff. While many of those who spoke during public comment at the meeting vocalized disappointment in being let go from their own positions, others who are still employed expressed concern about eliminating positions like mental health counselors, behavioral specialists and a college and career counselor.

These positions, critics said, are essential to a district with a student population that is 85-percent socioeconomically disadvantaged, and many who have a history of trauma.

“You’re asking teachers to do something they weren’t trained in,” said Francisco Padilla, an intervention and discipline specialist at North Monterey County Middle School, on the specialties being eliminated.

Linda Sosa, a teacher at North Monterey County Middle, fought back tears as she spoke about Padilla. “If we lose him, we lose a key player. I’d rather give up my position, because his is so essential. Hire him instead.”

In total, the cuts are projected to save the district $1.2 million. The board passed a total of three resolutions that will cut 15 positions, not all of which are currently filled. (The savings will not be immediate, as many of the positions are funded until the end of 2019-20 school year.)

Yeater says the staff cuts aren’t a final blow, and that the district is trying to continue affected programs for as long as possible. She points to new legislation, like Medicaid’s expansion of school-based mental health, and partnerships with nonprofits like Community Human Services, that can help enable the district to offer mental health services.

“We have to look for well-balanced investments that we can leverage because the district can’t keep paying for everything,” Yeater says.