About 200 people showed up on Tuesday, Feb. 24, to a meeting of the Salinas Union High School District board of trustees. The crowd was there to protest the elimination of 14 staff positions, including the director of communications, director of health and wellness, and 12 restorative justice facilitators.
Despite community objections, the board unanimously approved terminating the positions, but never specified how much money they expect to save.
The vote, finally taken after 10pm, left the crowd in low spirits after many people spoke in support of Carissa Purnell, SUHSD’s director of health and wellness, and Marcos Cabrera, director of communications, as well as the restorative justice facilitators.
“There was zero communication, zero transparency. We parents weren’t informed of anything at all,” said Alma Loredo. She and others collected over 250 signatures of community members who opposed the staff reduction.
“It was a really big injustice to the people,” says Athena Vazquez Curiel, 17, a senior at Salinas High. She says working with a restorative justice facilitator has helped her with her mental health and trust in the school.
SUHSD is not alone in cutting staff, joining Pajaro Valley, Monterey Peninsula and Pacific Grove, among others, in exploring reductions. Other districts, however, have hosted community forums seeking public input.
Superintendent Zandra Jo Galvan said the restorative justice facilitators were grant-funded positions, which were cut because that funding dried up. Galvan added they are looking for resources to restore or reimagine these roles.
The positions will phase out by July 1.