The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is bracing for a tense showdown this week as board members prepare to weigh layoffs that could wipe out more than two dozen staffers, including teachers who lead early reading intervention programs and a large chunk of the custodial workforce. District staff say the proposed cuts reflect service reductions, but the plan has already triggered a parent petition and a union push ahead of Thursday’s board meeting.
Who The Layoffs Would Hit
Three layoff resolutions on Thursday’s agenda would eliminate more than 27 full-time equivalent positions across both certificated and classified staff. According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, the proposal targets five certificated teachers and about 20.425 FTE in custodial roles. On the classified side, the package would cut 18 full-time, 12-month custodians and additional part-time hours totaling roughly 2.425 FTE, while certificated reductions would remove four multiple-subject teachers and one Spanish teacher.
Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents many of the affected classified workers, argues that the district’s contract proposals would worsen working conditions and says administrators are pushing toward layoffs without enough transparency. The union has called on members to wear purple on Tuesdays, pack bargaining sessions, and show up at the board meeting as part of its response, per SEIU Local 99.
On the parent side, a Change.org petition contends the cuts would fall hardest on students who depend on Language and Literacy Interventionists, or LLIs. Petition organizer Yaso Thiagarajah describes those positions as a “critical bridge” for early readers and warns that cutting them would widen existing achievement gaps. The petition, framed squarely as an equity issue for disadvantaged students, collected dozens of signatures within days. See the petition on Change.org.
What The Cuts Could Mean On Campus
District leaders cite shrinking enrollment, budget pressure, and associated service reductions as the reason these jobs are on the chopping block, a trend they have been flagging for several years. Community advocates counter that stripping out LLIs and reducing custodial staff will hit classrooms and campuses where it hurts, from targeted small-group instruction for struggling readers to the day-to-day cleaning and maintenance that keeps schools running. Broader worries about enrollment, local funding, and the long-running Malibu unification effort hang over the district’s budget talks, as noted by LAist.
Timeline And Legal Process
Under state law, school districts must give formal notice by March 15 to any employees who might be laid off for the following school year. Those workers are entitled to notice and the chance to request a hearing under the Education Code. That March 15 letter kicks off a process that typically includes hearings, a proposed decision, and final board action before the new school year starts. For details on the statutory timelines and employee rights, see guidance from the California School Boards Association, as reported by CSBA.
The SMMUSD board is scheduled to take up the layoff resolutions at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the district office board room at 1717 4th Street in Santa Monica. If the board signs off, the superintendent or a designee has been directed to notify affected employees by the March 15 deadline, with the cuts set to begin in the 2026–27 school year. Employees would retain reemployment rights under state law. The district calendar confirms the time and place of Thursday’s meeting and outlines the scope of the proposed cuts. See the district calendar on SMMUSD.
Union leaders say they plan to keep the pressure on at the bargaining table and in public sessions, while petition organizers are urging families to lobby board members to spare reading supports when Thursday’s vote comes up. Both SEIU Local 99 and the parents behind the Change.org petition say they will be watching closely to see how trustees vote and what the district’s next move will be. See updates from SEIU Local 99 and the petition on Change.org.
