TEHACHAPI, Calif. (KERO) — Nearly 70 school district employees in Tehachapi could be at risk of losing their jobs as the school board grapples with a budget shortfall.
On Tuesday, some of those workers and their supporters made their voices heard outside the Tehachapi Unified School District office. The demonstration comes as the district superintendent prepared to present three different budget scenarios to the school board.
According to the California School Employees Association, one of those scenarios would include laying off 69 classified employees. Classified staff includes bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, maintenance employees, and bilingual translators.
"A lot of these people are classified employees, and if they lose their job, they lose their health insurance," Verdugo said.
Sherry Verdugo, a classified employee herself, says they believe they are being asked to shoulder the burden of what they describe as poor budget decisions.
"Don't put their mistakes on the backs of classifieds. It's going to hurt our children, it's going to hurt our teachers and our communities," Verdugo said.
The union says the district should first look at administrative costs, travel, and outside contractors before cutting classified jobs.
"They're talking about one of the proposed scenarios, cutting up to 40% of classified employees with little to no explanation. There is no explanation as to why, why they need to be done, and especially why they need to be done so quickly," said Chadwyck Moore, labor relations representative for CSEA.
A second union, the Tehachapi Association of Teachers, says no teaching layoffs have been confirmed. However, there are concerns about possible cuts to the district's independent learning program, known as TILA.
"I love all my teachers; they've all treated me fairly. I think all our teachers deserve equal pay and don't need to be cut from their funds," said Parker Gonzales, a sophomore at Tehachapi High School.
The district tells us they are not ready to comment at this time. But during the board meeting following the demonstration, officials said part of the financial strain stems from not qualifying for a state concentration grant, which provides millions to districts where more than 55% of students are considered high-need.
The board did not vote on any cuts Tuesday night, but classified employees expect a decision at the next meeting on February 10.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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