Chula Vista school district cuts over 100 jobs in special weekend meeting

More than 100 positions will be eliminated at Chula Vista elementary schools after COVID-19 pandemic funding that paid for those jobs runs out next year.

Board members approved the cuts during a Saturday morning meeting that was scheduled just two days prior. Though the district — the fourth-largest in San Diego County — is not facing a projected deficit, officials said the cuts were made after individual schools decided which positions to eliminate after reviewing their priorities for next year’s budget.

Most of the affected positions were funded through one-time federal funding to help schools recover from the impact of the pandemic. The board approved eliminating a total of 132 full-time equivalent positions — 55 classified and 77 certificated. 

Certificated employees have some type of a teaching credential and include teachers and most administrators. A teaching credential is not required for classified employees, which include custodians, instructional aides and more.

Though positions will be eliminated, it’s not immediately clear how many employees will be without a job. Some teachers will return to positions they held prior to the pandemic, for example, and some classified staff may shift to an open position within the district. 

Among the classified staff affected are instructional assistants, school health clerks, custodians, noon duty supervisors, technology technicians and more. Officials acknowledged that some of the positions being eliminated are still needed, particularly the instructional assistants for English learners. 

Jason Romero, assistant superintendent of human resources, told the board that it must first formally vote to eliminate the positions before the district can legally explore potential solutions for the affected employees.

“I can’t guarantee every single position but it will be far less,” Romero said about the classified jobs, adding that officials will have until July to figure out which positions it could potentially bring back online for the upcoming school year. 

While certificated positions — impact teachers, psychologists, social workers, performing arts teachers and more — are being eliminated, those employees will still have a job. Instead, they’ll return to the positions they held prior to the pandemic.

For example, 56 of the certificated employees being affected are what’s known as impact teachers, who were hired to address student learning loss and other areas of support. For the past three years, their positions have been temporarily filled by contracted teachers. 

Now that pandemic funding is sunsetting, impact teachers will return to their previous positions. Classroom teachers will be provided with training to pick up where impact teachers have left off, staff said. 

Performing arts teachers, who are also certificated employees, may be moved to another campus depending on student enrollment at that site next year. 

The board unanimously voted to eliminate the certificated positions, with Vice President Cesar Fernandez absent. The elimination of the classified positions passed 3-1, with board Clerk Francisco Tamayo opposing.

Board members did not immediately respond to an inewsource request for comment. 

Details about the meeting were posted on the district website and social media Thursday. A district spokesperson said the meeting was held on Saturday because employee contracts needed to be approved in a timely manner. 

Chula Vista Elementary employs nearly 5,000 people and serves students grades TK-6 in south San Diego County. Last year, about 29,000 students were enrolled at one of its 45 schools. 

While the district doesn’t project a deficit for at least the next two years, its job cuts come as others in the region are grappling with financial troubles. The South Bay Union School District is considering campus closures as it faces massive enrollment declines, while San Diego Unified will cut hundreds of jobs as it attempts to address a deficit that has grown to more than $90 million.