Cotton Outlines School Cuts

WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton at Korematsu Middle School on Jan. 15

WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton outlined cuts she would make to staff and overall operations in West Contra Costa schools if the school board ratifies tentative agreements reached last month with the United Teachers of Richmond (UTR) and Teamsters.

The agreements were reached after districtwide strikes by UTR and the Teamsters that started Dec. 5. The UTR strike ended after a tentative agreement (TA) was signed around 2 a.m. on Dec. 10.

Ratification Vote Set for Jan. 21

A vote to ratify the tentative agreements is set for Wednesday (Jan. 21) at Lavonya DeJean Middle School in Richmond.

Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey is expected to give her opinion by Tuesday (Jan. 20). The district was required to submit its budget reduction plan to Mackey and has done so. EdSource reported that under state law, Mackey has until Tuesday to assess whether the district’s spending plans are “affordable” and “sustainable.”

At a community meeting Thursday at Korematsu Middle School, Cotton said it’s important to pay educators but “our choices have an impact and so I do want to talk about what that impact looks like.”

10% Staff Cut

Cotton said the agreements, which include an 8% raise over two years and an increase in health benefits to 100% paid family health care by June 30, 2027, would cause her administration to cut staffing by about 10%, eliminating about 400 of the district’s 4,000 positions. She said her administration would try to make cuts by eliminating vacant positions where possible.

The administration would also “right-size” particular schools, which could mean moving employees. The goal would be to fill every classroom to the contractual maximums of 22 students in kindergarten through third grade and 30 students in fourth through sixth grade. At the secondary level, class sizes would increase to 35 students. There would be cuts in materials and supplies and in some outside contracts.

Beating March 15 Layoff Deadline

The board would need to act quickly to achieve the proposed staff cuts in time to meet the state’s March 15 deadline for notifying employees of layoffs, Cotton said.

Cotton’s slide show also floated a proposal to “rethink” K-8 schools in the district and move middle-grade students into middle schools such as Helms and Pinole, which have space for many more students.

The staffing and structural changes would be made in the next couple of months to reduce the budget for the 2026-27 school year.

To start paying the higher wages and benefits this year, the district would use $23.5 million this year and $5 million next year from a “rainy day fund” (Fund 17). It would also borrow $13 million each year for the next three years from the fund used to pay district retirees’ health benefits (Fund 71).

District Projected A Deficit Even Without TA

Cotton said the district has had a “structural deficit” for some time. She noted that payments from the state based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA) at district schools have declined because of a drop in attendance from about 28,000 in 2019-20 to 24,000 now. A district slide showed that even before any salary increases, the district projected a $13 million deficit at the end of 2025-26.

Projecting a $127 Million Deficit

The slide projected that honoring the tentative agreement would cost an additional $28 million in the current fiscal year, $39 million in 2026-27, and $41 million in 2027-28. The district projects it will need $127 million over the three-year period to stay solvent. Potential for increasing revenue was not discussed.

Cotton did not take questions from the audience, but after the presentation attendees broke into smaller groups. Each table was staffed by at least one WCCUSD administrator.

Time for Thoughtful Decisions?

At a table staffed by Katherine Acosta-Verprauskus, people expressed concern that time isn’t being allowed for thoughtful decisions on how to address the deficit.

Acosta-Verprauskus said district administration has been working hard to come up with a plan quickly and people are welcome to submit their input on paper forms or online.

Parent Brenda Lee said she would like to see a thoughtful approach to making cuts. “I’m concerned that with all the cuts people may decide to go elsewhere (with their students).”

Korematsu Principal Matthew Burnham, who is also a parent of WCCUSD students, said his son at El Cerrito High is concerned that the district will cut AP classes, some of which are small. Burnham’s son has taken classes through Contra Costa College and students can get college credits that way. However, not all students are able to do that.

Rochelle Johnson, an art teacher at Madera and Kensington schools and a parent, said it’s a bad idea to cut electives like art “that make kids want to come to school.” She said the district needs to look at how teachers of the arts can be funded using state funds from Prop. 28, which was passed by voters to support the arts in public schools. Johnson is paid using those funds, she said.

A State-Level Problem?

Parent Mike Schneider said the problem with district finances seems to be “a state-level problem.”

El Cerrito High School teacher Sky Nelson echoed that sentiment. He said the school board could use help from the county superintendent and possibly Supervisor John Gioia to support flexibility that would “create space to address the fiscal and structural issues.”

At least a dozen other school districts in California have declared an impasse in labor negotiations, according to EdSource.

According to Nelson, Gov. Newsom has said there is an unallocated $2.8 billion surplus within a broader $22 billion education budget.

One key issue raised during contract negotiations is the cost of special education, which has doubled in the past five years. The teachers’ union has said paying private contractors instead of district employees increases costs but not the quality of services.

At the meeting Thursday, Cotton said Wednesday’s vote by the school board on whether to ratify the tentative agreements “is not my decision.”

She said the board asked her to share financial information with the community before the board vote.

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