Petaluma board affirms $6.1 million in recommended budget cuts as counselors, bilingual coordinator and specialists draw public concern

The Petaluma City Schools Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a resolution acknowledging and committing to implement budget-advisory committee recommendations that identify $6,123,000 in reductions for fiscal year 2026–27.

District staff read the advisory committee’s recommendation and described three parcel-tax options for high-school and elementary funds; trustees then took a straw poll of preferences and voted to approve the resolution, which acknowledges the list of proposed eliminations while reserving specific personnel decisions for February meetings and allowing reinstatements through May 15 if funding becomes available.

Why it matters: The cuts identified by the advisory committee would affect counselors, reading specialists, bilingual coordination and several student-support roles that educators and parents say are central to compliance, equity and student outcomes.

Public commenters urged the board to reconsider or delay. “I’m here tonight to share some serious concerns about the proposal to cut 2 FTE school counselors while creating 2 FTE CTE work based learning counselor positions,” Megan McClellan, lead school counselor at Petaluma High, told the board. She said counselors at her site manage dozens of 504 plans and handle crisis, graduation planning and mental-health supports.

Several speakers flagged grant and compliance risks. Dan Osterman, a pathways coordinator, said the work-based learning coordinator role was funded by a restricted Golden State Pathways Program grant and asked how eliminations would affect both compliance and relationships with funders. “Because grant funding comes with very specific expectations, I’m concerned about how changes may affect both compliance and trust with our funders,” he said.

Board and staff discussion emphasized trade-offs among multiple funding sources and timelines to restore positions. Staff warned many positions have been moved among parcel-tax, general fund and one-time restricted grants over the past several years; they also noted that certain restricted funds (student-support and learning-loss block grants) could be used to restore some positions temporarily but are not a sustainable long-term solution.

Trustees pressed staff on timing and process: the resolution as approved does not itself eliminate specific positions; instead it records receipt of the budget-advisory committee’s recommendations and directs staff to return with concrete actions at February budget-development meetings and, if necessary, formal elimination actions in subsequent months. Staff emphasized a May 15 reinstatement deadline if new funds appear.

What’s next: Specific personnel actions are expected to return to the board for consideration in February. The board asked staff to provide clearer lists of positions to reinstate as funds permit, a breakdown of funding sources for each affected position, and additional detail on grant compliance and Medi-Cal billing assumptions for mental-health staff.

Speakers quoted in this story are from the meeting record of the Petaluma City Schools Board of Trustees.