Teachers and staff filed into a crowded board room on Tuesday to speak out about the Santa Barbara Unified School District’s potential staff cuts and to express frustration over what they say has been a mismanagement of funds.

After receiving $60 million to aid with the transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the district is considering cutting 115 certified and classified positions, many of which were brought on by the additional funding.

Employees who could be affected by the layoffs must be notified by Friday, but the final decision won’t come until May 15, when the budget for next year is finalized.

“The notices given out are not a final decision,” Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said at Tuesday’s school board meeting. 

Manuel Gomez, a technical support specialist, told the board that the uncertainty about his job has caused stress for him and his family. 

“It has been stressful during this time, not knowing what’s going to happen,” Gomez said during public comment. “As a parent and as a staff member of Santa Barbara Unified, this situation has contributed to sleepless nights, additional stress and anxiety.”

Fifteen certified positions are on the chopping block, including five early-childhood education teachers, a program facilitator for special education, two full-time and two part-time counselors, two elementary multi-tiered support specialists and five instructional support specialists. 

One hundred classified jobs could be eliminated or have hours reduced. Those positions include bilingual paraeducators, campus safety assistants, a behavior intervention specialist, a youth outreach worker, office assistants, a family engagement liaison and more.

A full list of classified jobs that could be eliminated or reduced can be seen here. 

John Becchio, assistant superintendent of human resources for the district, told the board that some of the positions listed have been vacant — specifically, some of the bilingual paraeducator positions were never filled — so they will be eliminated from the budget. 

“This funding issue is a district-created problem,” Santa Barbara Teachers Association treasurer York Shingle said during public comment on Tuesday. “Instead of recognizing that the district should not have used one-time funds for staff but should have come up with a plan to continue funding those positions, they’re acting like this is inevitable and just a hard situation.”

The potential layoffs come during ongoing negotiations between the district and the teachers union. Becchio said the layoff notices aren’t intended to be used as a scare tactic in negotiations, but many teachers and staff said the decision further hurts the trust between the district and employees.

“The harm you’re causing is going to take a lot more than salaries to repair,” Shingle said during public comment. “Words aren’t going to do it, actions are, so what are we going to do to repair these relationships so we can move forward together?”

The district used the one-time COVID-19 funding to bring on many of the positions it is now looking to eliminate to support student services, learning recovery and purchasing COVID-19 safety supplies. In a memo to the school board, Becchio wrote that human resources knew any hirings made from those funds would either need to be eliminated or moved into the general fund budget.

Becchio told the board that after Friday, they will look at the list of employees who received layoff notices to see who might fit into open positions at the district in order to keep them employed. 

School board member William Banning said that while he didn’t want to make this decision, it was one the board had to make.

“It’s not because I believe this is the best possible thing but because we have to at this point,” Banning said. “Our responsibility in maintaining the fiscal health and security of the district demands it.”

The cuts come as the district and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association are at an impasse in salary negotiations. On March 5, the district and the SBTA held an eight-hour meeting with a state-appointed mediator. The mediator recommended that the two groups continue their efforts toward a settlement on April 10.

The Santa Maria-Bonita School District spent its COVID-19 relief funds on projects and programs, such as physical education and visual arts. The district has no plans to make staff cuts because of the end of funding, according to Maggie White, the district’s public information officer.

In February, the Goleta Union School District announced it would be laying off 16 employees and reducing hours for nine employees because of the end of COVID-19 funding. Goleta received $5,309,238 in one-time funds and also is eliminating many positions brought on by the funds.