Educators are forming picket lines at nine campuses across the Grossmont Union High School District in protest of proposed staffing cuts. As reported by FOX 5 San Diego, teachers are vocalizing concerns that the loss of over 60 positions, including all nine librarians within the district, will negatively impact student outcomes and exacerbate issues like larger class sizes.
Moving the Tuesday school board meeting to Grossmont High School anticipates a large turnout, stemming from Monday's demonstrations where staff disagreed with the proposed changes. As described by Laura Preble, a retired GUHSD teacher, per FOX 5 San Diego, the value of connections formed between staff and students in the library settings is at risk, "Most kids need an adult other than their parent to see them, to validate them, to hear them. That's a lot of what we did in libraries too is make connections with kids."
Last month, the school board voted in favor of the cuts, citing the need to address "long-term challenges" related to declining enrollment and uncertain state funding levels, as Acting Superintendent Sandra Huezo outlined. As FOX 5 San Diego reports, Huezo has called for a reimagined approach to library staffing "in order to balance fiscal responsibility with the educational priorities of our schools."
On the flip side, staff from the school district worry about the ramifications for the students they serve. Suzanne Sannwald, a West Hills High School librarian, told CBS 8, "The action that they took is going to have the worst effects on our students. They wouldn’t listen to our students, and these are cuts that would directly affect our students." The protests come as affected staff brace for notices by March 15, though changes could loom as the decision isn't final until the May 15 deadline.
