Paso Robles schools to cut 54 jobs. What exactly will that look like?
The Paso Robles school district will slash at least 54 jobs to help stave off its $4.9 million structural budget deficit, trustees decided Tuesday night.
While many of the jobs will be eliminated through attrition, some employees will likely be laid off.
“At the end of the day, we are making the best possible recommendations we can make based on the situation that we have,” Superintendent Jennifer Loftus told trustees. “We have to make reductions.”
The Paso Robles district’s deficit stems from enrollment decline and the expiration of COVID funding, Loftus told The Tribune in December.
During the pandemic, the district used emergency relief funds to hire staff and keep up with students’ increased emotional and academic needs, despite seeing enrollment drops.
Now, with a nearly $5 million hole in its budget, the district needs to right-size its staffing levels.
And at Tuesday night’s board meeting, trustees did just that, voting to eliminate 54.5 full-time jobs across the district, including teachers, counselors, management and support staff.
The district has also made cuts to its day-to-day operating expenditures over the past year to help cure the deficit, Loftus said in December.
Paso Robles is not the only SLO County district slicing its budget.
The San Luis Coastal district is also working on solutions to its $6 million deficit — and some SLO parents and board members are hoping to lobby PG&E for funding before the district has to take drastic action.
District cuts include teachers, mental health staff
The list of jobs on the chopping block presented to trustees Tuesday night closely matched the one presented at a meeting earlier this month.
It includes 22 certificated positions like teachers and counselors, 24.5 classified positions like paraeducators, as well as two certificated administrative positions and six classified management positions.
Many of the positions that will be eliminated are either currently open or will be vacated by retirees or transfers at the end of this school year, district officials said.
Leaders told trustees they are working to keep as many current district employees as possible by rearranging schedules and reassigning staff to other roles. But even then, local schools will still likely see layoffs.
Trustee Kenney Enney said he was “annoyed” that the district was being forced to make so many cuts, calling into question the COVID-era decisions to staff schools at levels above enrollment.
Trustee Laurene McCoy cited concerns about staff work levels and student academics with the reduction of counselors and intervention teachers.
“Those are things that we truly need,” McCoy said. “They’re already overworked and underpaid and have a lot on their plates with their caseloads.”
Paso Robles community members turned out at the meeting to advocate against cuts at all levels.
Stephanie Russo, a counselor in the district, advocated for her fellow counselors and teachers — but ultimately, she was there speaking for students, she said.
“If we add 100-plus more students to each of our caseloads, I truly don’t know how a student will not fall through the cracks,” Russo told trustees.
Several community members urged trustees to reconsider the reduction of one agriculture teaching position, which was among the cuts due to a lack of students enrolled in the program. Assistant superintendent of human resources Shauna Ames said each high school course equals roughly $20,000 in spending.
“Running courses that have really low numbers isn’t something we can continue,” she said.
Trustees ultimately approved the cuts in four separate votes — two were unanimous, while McCoy voted against the cuts to certificated staff and classified management. Additionally trustees approved a caveat that the district work with the agriculture department to find a way to retain the agriculture teacher.
The district is still working to determine how many employees will be directly laid off, after retirements and transfers are taken into account, officials said. Leaders will also use student registration to determine which specific courses will be reduced.
The district is aiming to save over a million more than it’s structural deficit to compensate for lost carryover funds. In 2025-26, the district will carry over around $2 million less than the previous year.
In total, the cuts approved Tuesday are projected to save the district around $6.1 million.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 2:40 PM.
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