As votes are cast in the California primary, there is also a decision coming for hundreds of teachers and staff in the San Diego Unified School District.
The Board of Trustees meets Tuesday night to discuss who gets a pink slip, and how many positions will be cut in the next school year.
The potential layoffs are in response to a projected $93.7 million budget deficit.
Board vice president Cody Petterson said that’s because of an end of supplemental federal COVID-19 funding and much less funding expected from the state.
“We are committed first to reducing to an absolute minimum these cuts to students. Second, (we want to) reduce to an absolute minimum the amount of staff that are affected by it," Petterson said. "We understand how traumatic it can be to receive a pink slip."
Resource teachers across the district could be the first to be laid off. Those teachers are assigned from the district administration office to school sites, and provide services like literacy and language instruction.
Barnard Mandarin Elementary is a magnet school in Pacific Beach, offering a full immersion program in Chinese language and culture for students. Parents have been notified that the full-time resource teacher, responsible for developing the curriculum and managing all Mandarin instruction, will be laid off.
“It is the only elementary school that offers Mandarin language instruction, especially in an immersion program. It really helps children get a great grasp of the language," said Gisa Dang, a member of the Barnard PTA.
Dang joined other parents in a protest last Thursday during a groundbreaking ceremony on campus. The parents said eliminating the resource teacher position would dilute the entire program, as Barnard students get their foundation to continue to the education path at Pacific Beach Middle School and Mission Bay High School.
Jeanette Woodward, the PTA President, said, “You either fund it fully or you don’t fund it at all. I mean, cut the program if you don’t believe in it.”
At last week's school board meeting, several Barnard parents and students asked trustees to reconsider the layoffs. One even spoke in Mandarin to make her point.
Elisa Luna, another student, said, "I’m just here to say, please keep funding my teachers so Barnard can go on. Thank you."
The school board's meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 5, and will be livestreamed.
