The Learning Curve: Grossmont Union’s Layoffs Spark Outrage

Last week’s Grossmont Union High School District board meeting was wild. Hundreds of enraged community members showed up to protest 61 proposed layoffs. Despite the vocal pushback, the board approved all of the layoff notices.  

The board could potentially eliminate 49 positions that require credentials. Those include assistant and vice principals, credentialed teachers and almost all of the district’s librarians. An additional 12 classified positions were included in the cuts, as well as the closure of a child care center used by staff and students with children.  

The district won’t send out the layoff notices, often referred to as pink slips, until mid-March. Those who receive them won’t be officially laid off until mid-May. 

The vote comes as the district faces a $2.5 million budget deficit and is just the latest dust up in a series of board related controversies.  

Last year, trustee Jim Kelly was sued by a former district administrator who claimed he’d discriminated against her because she was lesbian. She claims Woods referred to her and another lesbian district employee as “’witches’ who were part of an LGBTQ ‘coven,’” according to the lawsuit.  

The year before that lawsuit, the conservative majority on the board voted to terminate multiple contracts with San Diego Youth Services to provide student mental health services. The board cited concerns about the nonprofit’s care for LGBTQ+ youth, which includes counseling programs, despite those services being separate from what the nonprofit provided the district. When voting to end the services, trustee Gary Woods said the nonprofit did not “reflect East County values.” 

The proposed layoffs, on the surface, seem less overtly ideological. But even given the past contentiousness, Chris Fite, the board’s lone “no,” vote, said the pushback to this decision was unprecedented.  

Hundreds of community members showed up waving signs decrying the layoffs. Nearly 90 attendees signed up for public comment. Only about 30 got the chance to speak before the board called a recess. 

The layoffs were split into two agenda items. The first item, which covered the certificated positions, was approved 4 to 1. That vote elicited jeers from the crowd. So, the board retreated into a nearby classroom and – in a literal back room vote – approved the second item, which included the 12 certificated positions. 

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Fite said.  

“If you’re a sentient being, there’s no way on earth you could experience that meeting and not realize, ‘you know what, this is really unpopular. But they just may not care.” 

Grossmont’s other board members did not respond to interview requests. 

The district has between $30 million and $45 million in reserves – more than four times what the state mandates. That means, as Fite laid out during the meeting, the district could feasibly pay for deficit for between 12 to 18 years.  

It is important to note that that’s generally not how deficits work, as they tend to multiply if left unchecked. Using onetime dollars for spending is also considered bad fiscal practice, district spokesperson Collin McGlashen told reporters this after the chaotic meeting.  

“This is not just about balancing the budget this year, it’s about looking down the road and doing what’s in the best interest of the … district’s fiscal health long term,” McGlashen continued. He blamed the deficit on “state school budget cuts due to the cost of wildfire damages and declining enrollment,” according to NBC 7.  

While Grossmont Union has seen a slight decline in enrollment, since 2017, the district’s total decline – 1.58 percent – is the smallest of any of the 38 county districts with declining enrollments. It’s also significantly smaller than the district’s total decline, which stands at 9 percent. As far as the wildfire damages claim, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget kept school spending steady, though that could change by May, when his final budget is released. 

In any case, the actions don’t make sense to Fite. 

“They’re saying these are structural deficits, but they won’t say what they’re caused by,” Fite said. “To me, it doesn’t add up. It does not explain the severity of the cuts.” 

The savings generated by laying off 61 employees would almost certainly well exceed the $2.5 million hole that needs filling. And to Fite – and many others within the district – these positions should only be eliminated as a last resort. Students, staff and parents at the meeting all argued that many of those on the chopping block, including librarians, play an indispensable role in their schools. 

“Our librarian, especially, is trained in mental health, and he is there to talk to whenever students need it … He has created a space in which students feel comfortable,” Mount Miguel senior Mohammed Alkarkhy told NBC 7. 

The pushback isn’t over. West Hills Senior Miya Rhodes is helping spearhead a campuswide walkout on March 11, before the district’s next board meeting that night. Rhodes said the librarian at her school has not only supported students academically, but helped support their extracurricular interests. That support made the campus feel more connected, like a unified school rather than various disconnected students. 

“The board did not listen to the people who came to voice their support for their librarians, and because they both completely ignored the opinions of the people, we wanted to hold this walk out to try and get them to overturn this decision,” Rhodes said. 

Fite also isn’t done advocating. He’s hoping the turnout at the March 11 board meeting rivals that of last week’s and that it convinces his board members to budge. After all, there’s still time to change course. 

“If we can’t save all the jobs, I want the absolute lowest number of cuts that we can possibly do,” Fite said. 

What We’re Writing 

• Chollas-Mead Elementary is one of 25 San Diego Unified schools that have been designated community schools in recent years. These are schools that provide students wraparound services meant to help remove barriers to success and Chollas-Mead’s designation has led to a raft of changes at the school. Proponents laud the changes, but the state grants that fund the program will expire in coming years – and with the district facing a budget it’s unclear if leaders will be willing to foot the bill when they do. 
• Déjà Vu: Retired educator Jim Groth, who more than 50 years ago ran a community school program in Chula Vista, emailed me a prediction: “Community schools ended in the 80s due to funding cutbacks,” Groth wrote. “I still believe in community schools, however, history will repeat itself from the 1980s.”  
• The California Department of Education has filed a petition asking a judge to force the Cajon Valley Union Elementary School District to comply with state law and include LGBTQ+ identities in its sexual health curriculum. This is the latest skirmish in a simmering culture war that’s hit the district.