West Contra Costa Unified is expecting to make major cuts over the next few years, after years of declining enrollment and the approval of raises for teachers in order to avoid a strike.
Robert McEntire, associate superintendent of business services in West Contra Costa Unified, at a June 7 school board meeting, laid out a grim picture of the district’s future financial position over the next few years if it doesn’t follow a “fiscal solvency plan” approved by Contra Costa County’s Office of Education. If the school board doesn’t follow the plan, McEntire said, it will exhaust district reserves and go into state receivership.
The fiscal solvency plan calls for the reduction of 145 full-time employees, including 54 teachers, through attrition or layoffs before the 2024–25 school year, and more the following year.
School board President Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy said losing this many employees will unquestionably have a major impact on schools, where leaders regularly tell him that they currently don’t have enough staff. But by not making the cuts, the district may be forced to close schools.
“We have to keep the state out of our business, because they’re going to come in and close our schools, because we have some smaller schools, because that’s our choice and a priority we have,” Gonzalez-Hoy said. “The reality is, we have no money anywhere. So we’re going to have to make some tough choices, and everybody needs to be involved.”