SAN MARCOS — A proposal to significantly reduce hours and cut benefits for elementary school librarians in the San Marcos Unified School District sparked fierce community backlash this week, as the district navigates a projected $11 million budget deficit.
On Thursday, the district board of trustees agreed to remove school librarians from a list of certificated and classified positions targeted for proposed layoffs and service reductions, following feedback from hundreds of families, students, and staff members.
Along with 10 library media technicians, the district proposed reducing other classified positions, including a campus supervisor, a typist clerk, and a bilingual community liaison. Certificated positions, including several middle and high school teachers, were also proposed for reductions.
Elementary school librarians were told last week that the district planned to cut their positions from 8 hours to 3.75 hours per day and eliminate their health benefits. At the board’s Thursday meeting, hundreds of people packed the boardroom to protest the proposal and speak in support of librarians.
Students said their school librarians support them in their love of reading. Discovery Elementary School fourth grader Hannah Liu said she loves reading because of school librarian Marion Peña, who has made the library feel welcoming and safe.
“For me, the library is a place where I feel like I can be myself and show who I really am. If you reduce Ms. Peña’s hours, many students like me will not get help finding the books that make us love reading,” said Liu.
Several school librarians also spoke, stating that the cuts will ultimately hurt students. Dana Muldowney, the librarian at Twin Oaks Elementary, said limiting librarians creates barriers for vulnerable students who rely heavily on the school library.
“Many of our students lack access to books and formational tools at home. They do not have transportation to go to public libraries. Having a full-time librarian at each school guarantees equal access to literature, information, and student support,” Muldowney said.
Peña said that in addition to having 32 different classes of students per week at the Discovery Elementary library, she is responsible for finding and purchasing new books and running the book fair, which is the main way the library makes money. She would have no time to do either of those things anymore.
In addition, there is no way she could afford to stay in her role with such a huge reduction in hours, she said.
“Basically, with it being a 3.75-hour position, the library would pretty much close,” Peña said. “I wouldn’t stay. It’s just crazy.”
The district is required to issue preliminary notices of staff cuts by March 15. After hearing from the public, the board agreed to exclude the librarian positions from the proposed cuts and asked the district to consider other options in the meantime.
Trustee Lena Meum said while she understood that the district was trying not to fully cut the librarian positions, the severe reductions in hours would create an unlivable situation for them.
“I think we’re going to have a bunch of vacant library positions,” said Meum. “I know there are going to be cuts, and they’re going to be people cuts. But when I look at what the people cuts are here, they are student-facing, and that is my concern.”
District officials explained that these are very difficult decisions, but because around 85% of the budget goes toward paying staff, avoiding personnel cuts is impossible at this point. The proposed cuts to certificated and classified staff would only save the district around $1.6 million out of an $11 million deficit.
Superintendent Andy Johnsen warned that there will be more cuts down the road.
“This is going to be a multiyear problem for us. This conversation is going to be ongoing,” Johnsen said. “There will be more reductions coming.”
Trustees said they understood the clear need for cuts, but that they were not prepared to reduce librarian hours at this time.
“I have heard clearly from you, evidenced by over 800 emails, that these positions are deeply valued at the school site level. I went into this looking at it as a line item on a spreadsheet … for me, it is no longer a line item on a spreadsheet,” said Trustee Heidi Herrick.
Fourteen of the certificated positions were funded with grant dollars that are going to expire, according to district officials.
Budget deficit
District officials have been trying to avoid a budget deficit for years amid the ongoing decline in enrollment. Earlier this month, they shared that staff cuts would be imminent due to budget shortfalls.
Last year, the district faced its first deficit after several subsequent years of budget surpluses, with spending exceeding revenues by $3 million. The deficit is projected to grow to $11 million this year, followed by $10 million in 2026-27 and $9 million in 2027-28.
At the board’s Feb. 12 meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Erin Garcia said the district has been able to avoid deficits in recent years thanks to COVID-19 assistance funds and other one-time funds, but those cushions are now being depleted.
“That’s kind of been masking our structural deficit problem. We’ve been okay for a while, but now we’re going to have to start addressing this,” Garcia said.
In addition, the year-over-year decline in students has led to a drastic reduction in funding. State funding is calculated based on average daily attendance, or ADA, using a three-year average.
Since 2020, the district has seen a 2,013-student decrease, with a loss of 518 students last year. This year, the district projects a total loss of 365 students, followed by 300 more in 2026-27, resulting in a funding loss of around $3.6 million.
The drastic decline in students — equivalent to an entire high school over the past six years — means the district has to cut staff in several areas to balance the budget.
“The point is that classroom reductions alone are insufficient. The financial impact extends beyond the direct instructional costs,” Garcia said.
While ADA funding declines, Garcia said costs are going up for insurance and liability, CalPERS payments, and utilities.
Officials said the district needs to act now to avoid further dipping into its reserves, which currently sit at just under 15% of the total budget — less than the average for unified school districts in California.
Garcia also emphasized that the district has already reduced costs by $1.2 million this year. Leaders have reduced classified overtime, reorganized departments where possible, reduced staff at schools with the largest enrollment declines, limited all non-essential travel and supplies for the district office, refrained from filling vacant positions whenever possible, and cut back on the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program.
On Thursday, district officials noted that preliminary layoff notices are not final and may be rescinded if the financial outlook improves, especially once the governor’s budget is approved in June.
Back in 2022, the district shocked staff by issuing notices to 190 classified and certificated staff members, including dozens of teachers. However, nearly all of the notices were rescinded over the following months.
In the past, board members have expressed frustration about having to project major layoffs while awaiting the state’s actual financial forecast.
