With a project $5 million budget deficit, the Paso Robles school board mulled potentially eliminating 47 staff administration positions at a meeting on Jan. 28.
According to the staff presentation, most positions within the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District being cut are supervisors, classroom assistants, therapists, and paraeducators, among others.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Brad Pawlowski presented the district’s plan for reductions to the council, alongside Assistant Superintendents Shauna Ames and Erin Haley.
Pawlowski said narrowing down which positions to eliminate was no small decision and required effort from all superintendents’ areas of expertise.
During the pandemic, the district was given one-time funds that the district used primarily to hire staff who worked directly with students, Pawlowski explained. He also said that 85 percent of the district’s entire budget goes toward people.
With enrollment dwindling each year—a total of nearly 600 students since 2021—the district faces a $4.7 million deficit for the 2024-25 academic year.
Before reducing positions, Pawlowski said the district offered an early retirement program that many staff and administration took advantage of. This allowed the district to simply not fill those vacancies and eliminate fewer job positions.
He said the mentality behind this method is “hard on the problem, soft on people.”
Just by using the early retirement program, Pawlowski said the district’s deficit of about $5 million would become a projected $2.2 million by the start of the next school year.
But that still isn’t enough, so staff suggested reducing 47 district positions total.
“We know the gravity of this presentation. It’s been weighing heavily on us,” Assistant Superindendent Ames told the board.
Yet, staff said they remain hopeful that fewer positions would be eliminated if the district can properly reconfigure some job descriptions.
An example being what Assistant Superintendent Haley described as Teachers on Special Assignment—teachers who would have multiple assignments dedicated to supporting district curriculum and other teachers. This would allow one person to carry out multiple roles and needs.
Board member Kenney Enney said he would feel better making a final decision after holding a town hall meeting to hear from the community about what’s most important to them. But since those losing their jobs must be notified by March 15, staff said the reduction plan will return to the board at its next meeting on Feb. 11 for its approval.
“Well, I’m free tomorrow,” Enney said.
Overall, Superintendent Jennifer Loftus told New Times that the district is “making the best of the wrong choice,” and that all areas will see reductions in some capacity.
“Proportionately we are trying to be as equitable as we can be,” she said.
The decision isn’t easy for anyone, she added.
“This is a really difficult topic, ultimately at the end of the day I am talking about humans and services that impact kids,” Loftus said. “There is nothing on the list that I want to take away.” Δ
This article appears in Feb 6-16, 2025.