West Contra Costa Unified facing more budget cuts

The board of the West Contra Costa Unified School District is scheduled to meet Wednesday evening to vote on a proposal to reduce spending.

The Richmondside reports that board members could vote to cut a combined 13 million dollars from the next two years operating budgets. That would be in addition to the 19 million dollars the school district cut for the current school year.

Interim school superintendent Kim Moses warned that if the cuts weren’t made to resolve the district’s significant structural deficit, West Contra Costa Unified could lose budgetary control through a state takeover.

The district is already grappling with teacher shortages and test scores that remain lower than before the pandemic.

West Contra Costa Unified currently HAS (((boasts))) an enrollment of 25-thousand students – a nearly 10 percent decline from four years ago. More than half of the district’s students are from low-income families.

The majority of the district’s annual 509 million dollar budget is made up of staff salaries. Proposed budget cuts would come through layoffs – about 17 classroom teachers – and not filling vacant staff positions.

Leaders of the United Teachers of Richmond, the union representing the teachers, has pushed back on any more proposed staffing cuts, arguing that there are already shortages and student learning is already affected.