Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRUJSD) intends to continue investing in its infrastructure despite the $5 million budget deficit projected for the next academic year.
“Over the next couple of months, you may begin to hear about budget cuts and staffing reductions being made by the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District,” Superintendent Jennifer Loftus wrote in a Dec. 12 opinion piece in the Paso Robles Daily News. “Making sense of school finance can be challenging. Even those of us who live and breathe it every single day find it to be overwhelming at times.”
New Times contacted Loftus for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
Paso Robles Public Educators Union President Bernadette Boddington told New Times that she wasn’t sure which positions would be cut in the 2025-26 academic year, however she anticipated that it would be support staff positions like playground supervisors and classroom assistants.
“These are the roles that work with students behaviorally,” Boddington said. “It’s important the community is aware that any cut of support staff positions will affect the teachers’ ability to teach.”
Thanks to laws that don’t allow classrooms to exceed a certain number of students, Boddington said she doesn’t anticipate teacher layoffs because legally the district can’t “overcrowd the classroom.”
Boddington also said that the high school could see fewer elective courses, depending on how many students were enrolled.
While a course with 40 students wouldn’t be cut, those with 10 could be, she explained.
“Most likely, that is one area that the district will be looking at,” she said.
Best case scenario, Boddington said, maybe no one will lose a job as the district’s retirement incentive plan encourages higher-end salaried positions to retire early.
According to Boddington, 56 employees have taken the incentive, and the district likely won’t fill those vacant positions.
Despite potential staff reductions, Superintendent Loftus wrote that PRJUSD plans to continue investing in its infrastructure thanks to the funding from Measure M, a $96 million school bond passed in 2016.
According to a school board meeting on Dec. 17, the measure has a remaining $30 million intended to go toward the aquatic complex, which is still on track for completion in November 2025; an elementary playground at Georgia Brown Dual Immersion School; and kitchen modernization at Lewis Flamson Junior High this academic year.
Superintendent Loftus wrote in the Paso Robles Daily News that the school board will determine the final Measure M investments within the coming months.
“This means you will continue to see investments in and on our school campuses, even though we have a structural budget deficit that requires overall budget cuts,” she said.
Loftus also said the district receives dozens of other funding sources that could not be reallocated to staff support. Some include funds for students with disabilities, or career technical education enhancements. Others are dedicated to specific students at risk and must be used toward that demographic.
Loftus attributed the deficit to increasing costs of service despite declining enrollment and loss of funding.
“While there will be no possible way to complete this monumental task without disappointing some in the process, we remain committed to transparency and ensuring the fiscal solvency of our district,” Loftus wrote. ∆
This article appears in Jan 2-12, 2025.
For four months, I was stuck in a nightmare with traderup.com, unable to access my funds due to a PIN issue. Despite numerous attempts to resolve the problem by contacting their customer support, I was repeatedly promised a solution within 24 hours, but nothing came through. I checked my inbox and spam folders, but I never received any follow-up emails. I even tried reaching out through their Telegram channel, but that led to no progress either. It became clear that traderup.com was doing everything it could to prevent me from accessing my money, Feeling completely helpless and desperate, I searched online for a solution and found Blockchain Cyber Retrieve. Although I was initially skeptical, their professional and attentive team quickly put my mind at ease. They acted swiftly and, within a week, I had my funds back. Blockchain Cyber Retrieve truly saved me when no one else could. I highly recommend their services to anyone facing similar issues.
CONTACT THEM ON:
WhatsApp:+1520 564 8300
Email: blockchaincyberretrieve@post.com