Grossmont Union High School District

Dear GUHSD Community, 

I’m writing to share an overview of the final recommendations I will present to the Governing Board on May 8. My previous messages on these issues can be found here:

• February 25, 2025
• March 6, 2025
• April 3, 2025
• Beyond Soundbites April 3, 2025
• April 7, 2025
• April 10, 2025

Let me begin by clarifying what these recommendations are not:

They are not only about balancing this year’s budget. From the outset, I’ve been clear that my focus has been on two long-term goals:

1. Addressing long-term fiscal challenges. Among the challenges:

• Our District is projecting ongoing structural deficits and continued declines in enrollment.
• The California Legislative Analyst’s Office has warned of continued state budget shortfalls.
• GUHSD currently carries over 200 more full-time equivalent positions than it did in 2017–18, despite a decline in enrollment.

2. Ensuring resources are available to meet students’ urgent and evolving needs. Among the needs:

• Supporting students’ emotional health and wellness
• Increasing technology literacy
• Supporting our growing Newcomer population

Some have noted that in prior years, state funding to the District exceeded projections and have suggested we maintain current staffing in anticipation of a similar outcome.

I do not believe it is responsible to base future planning on optimism alone. That argument also assumes that preserving the status quo is what’s best for students.

The Board is entrusted with allocating limited resources to meet the evolving needs of students – even when that requires the difficult consideration of staffing reductions. As I’ve said before, with salaries and benefits accounting for nearly 88% of our budget, any serious plan to address our current challenges must include a careful review of staffing. Districts across California are facing similar decisions; GUHSD is not alone.

Before I arrived at GUHSD in January, projections for the 2025–26 school year already indicated the need to reduce at least 16 full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated positions to align staffing with projected enrollment. In other words, we had more teachers than available teaching assignments. Even if balancing the budget were our only objective – which it is not – I would still be recommending staffing reductions. The District, and our schools, are funded based on the number of students seated in our classrooms.

These recommendations are also not the Board’s or anyone else’s – they are mine. They reflect my professional judgment, informed by 30 years of experience in school district and human resources leadership. Since joining GUHSD in January, I’ve worked closely with our leadership team to evaluate staffing levels, services, enrollment, and budgets.

I recognize that decisions made before my arrival continue to shape how many people view the proposal I’ve presented. I’ve heard those perspectives during public comments, read them in emails, and discussed them directly with staff. I acknowledge and respect those feelings. Still, regardless of how one interprets past District decisions, it’s important to understand that the current plan reflects my own assessment – grounded in our fiscal realities and the need to direct resources where they will most benefit students. Ultimately, it is the Board’s responsibility to determine whether to adopt these recommendations, but I want to be clear: I would be making the same recommendations, regardless of what occurred in the past.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE CONTINUES

While balancing the budget is not our only goal, it is a necessary one. A balanced budget – defined as projected revenues meeting or exceeding projected expenditures without drawing on reserves – is essential to sustaining the direct instructional needs of our projected student population next year. We must first secure that foundation, ensuring our core educational program is fully funded and appropriately staffed.

Budget planning is a complex process, and adjustments are often necessary as new information becomes available. We anticipate the need to account for cost increases before submitting our final budget proposal to the Governing Board in June. One example is Special Education. While we have long-term strategies in place to manage these expenses, we are seeing rising costs related to student placements in residential treatment centers, services provided through Juvenile Court and Community Schools, and the use of agency service providers.

As such, none of the plans discussed below – regardless of how far along they are in development – can move forward unless funding is available to support them. We must fully account for the cost of our existing programs before making any new commitments.

In addition to the areas of focus outlined below, efforts to strengthen student communication skills, improve student attendance, and address library program needs remain important and are still under development. I recognize the desire to see fully developed plans before decisions are made. However, this work is complex, time-intensive, and dependent on a clearer understanding of available resources. As a reminder, the state requires school districts to notify employees of any position eliminations for the upcoming school year by May 15, regardless of whether all of our plans have been finalized.

We intend to share additional updates with our school community as these plans are developed further.

Student Safety and Wellness

As shared last week, the Board received a school safety update from our Director of Student Support Services. Each high school has an assistant principal focused on safety, a School Resource Officer, and six campus supervisors. At the District level, a reestablished Safety Committee – composed of administrators, teachers, and classified staff, with plans to include parents next year – reviews emergency plans, drills, incidents, and best practices.

We’re also strengthening partnerships with law enforcement and federal agencies through ongoing Diamond Safety Team sessions and new student lessons on human trafficking awareness. Additional upgrades include improved campus cameras and exploration of tools such as staff distress buttons, enhanced emergency alerts, and remote door-locking systems.

Student safety and wellness go hand-in-hand. While some recent public comments have suggested the District is dismantling counseling services, that is simply not true. The 19 counseling positions currently slated for release were funded through one-time dollars that are now expiring. Like many districts across the state, we are grappling with the loss of temporary funding. Unless the state extends or replaces this funding, these reductions are unavoidable.

That said, counseling services remain available at every school. Wellness Together therapists and other support staff continue to support students. Guided by early input from the Portrait of a Graduate process, we are committed to strengthening this support – building a sustainable, long-term system dedicated to student wellness.

Our guiding principles include:

• Promoting early intervention and equipping students with coping skills, resilience, and empathy
• Reducing stigma and fostering a culture of open support for mental health
• Improving academic outcomes by addressing emotional barriers to learning
• Supporting crisis response through trained staff and readily available resources
• Creating inclusive, safe environments where students feel heard and valued
• Engaging families, educators, and community partners in supporting student wellness

With these guiding principles in mind, we are actively exploring the following areas:

• Maximizing provider impact: We are reviewing contracts with providers such as Vista Hill and Wellness Together to explore how their services might be expanded to reach more students. For example, Vista Hill currently deploys 26 Educationally Related Mental Health Services therapists to support 770 Special Education students Districtwide. We are evaluating opportunities to broaden their reach so that more students can benefit from this level of support.
• Building internal capacity: To reduce long-term dependency on outside providers, we are exploring the creation of a new internal District-level team consisting of Licensed Mental Health Clinicians and Caseworkers, led by a Lead Clinician. This team would work directly with school counselors to help address the root causes of student challenges. They could be deployed to campuses based on need, and we are also considering how to reimagine existing spaces – such as libraries – to house these direct support services.
• Student Support and Success (S3) Counselor Restoration: We are closely monitoring state-level developments related to the Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant. If additional funding becomes available, we are prepared to extend the S3 model. The expiration of temporary funds resulted in the discontinuation of these counseling positions which provided support in areas such as crisis intervention, safety assessments, short-term counseling, and referrals to community resources. Many also facilitated group sessions focused on grief, anger management, and other key student needs. Schools that implemented the S3 model reported positive outcomes, and an additional year of grant-funded support could serve as a bridge while we work to establish a more permanent and sustainable internal support system.

Technology Literacy

A diverse group of district staff have formed the GUHSD Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance Committee to explore all aspects of AI in education and produce clear guidance for students and staff. 

Following Google’s announcement that its AI tool, Gemini, has passed federal and state certification for student privacy for users over age 13, GUHSD’s Educational Technology Services Department (ETS) is planning a districtwide rollout to support teachers in incorporating AI into instruction. This aligns with the District’s use of Google as its primary digital platform. 

The District is also considering an investment in high-end computer systems to launch a CIF-level Electronic Sports (ESports) program at four of our schools. ESports has a demonstrated ability to boost student engagement and open pathways to future careers. The computer systems will serve many other educational uses to the schools where the program is piloted, including high end AI computation and modeling.

To fully realize the benefits of technology initiatives like AI integration – the District must invest in high-quality professional development and support. This training should go beyond teachers to include all staff and students, ensuring equitable access and digital readiness. Existing resources and programs must be revised and expanded to keep pace with emerging technologies and instructional shifts.

Supporting Our Growing Newcomer Population

Our District provides support for over 2,500 English Learners (EL). An EL is a student whose primary language is not English and who needs additional support to develop their English language skills. “Newcomers” are ELs who have been in U.S. schools for three years or less. Over the past four years, our Newcomer student population has grown by 212%. 

This year alone, we’ve welcomed 475 newcomer students. We have an obligation to provide the classes, support, and family engagement necessary for their success, and we intend to dedicate additional resources to ensuring our schools have appropriate staffing and are meeting California Education Code requirements. 

MORE ON RESERVES

As there continues to be conversation about the District’s reserves and whether those funds should be used to address our long-term structural deficits, I want to address this issue again for the benefit of our community.

A structural deficit occurs when the District’s ongoing expenses exceed the revenue we expect to receive – most of which comes from the state. As mentioned above, the District is projecting structural deficits for multiple years to come, and the state has signaled additional budget shortfalls on the horizon.

Two weeks ago, the San Diego County Office of Education cautioned that using reserves to cover structural deficits “permanently reduces the fund balance and can create future financial difficulties.” They further advised the District to “make ongoing expenditure reductions to minimize deficit spending in future years,” noting:

“School districts face near and long-term challenges, including but not limited to: reduced (average daily attendance funding) due to higher student absence rates, inflationary pressures, pension rate increases, expiring one-time funds, and declining enrollment. We encourage the district to remain conservative in budget assumptions…”

The Governing Board is responsible for managing limited resources in ways that best meet student needs – not relying on short-term fixes to maintain staffing levels. Reserves are intended for one-time, unforeseen financial emergencies, such as major repairs or legal expenses – not for ongoing obligations like salaries. Once reserves are spent, they’re gone, but the underlying challenges remain.

That’s why the District has not recommended using reserves to address our ongoing structural challenges. As other responsible districts have done, we have evaluated services, programs, and staffing, aiming to protect students' classroom experience as much as possible.

OUR REVIEW & UPDATES

You can read about the District’s review process and the resulting recommendations I initially made to the Board in the March 6 message sent to GUHSD staff, which you can find here. Here is the update since my last message:

• The final proposed certificated staffing reductions eliminate 36.6 full-time equivalent positions. If approved, this would impact 38 current, non-temporary certificated employees.

• An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a written decision indicating that we have applied our authority and procedures appropriately. At the May 8 meeting, the Board can choose to adopt, amend, or reject the ALJ decision.

• My final recommendations also call for the elimination of  9.3437 classified FTE positions, one of which is currently vacant.

Staff will continue to monitor enrollment trends, vacancies, and resignations. These factors may affect the final number of notices issued, should the Board choose to adopt my recommendations. Additional notices may be rescinded before they become effective July 1. 

CONCLUSION

These recommendations have not been made lightly, and I fully understand the overall conditions in which they are being made. However, I am proposing a plan that I firmly believe is rooted in fiscal responsibility and a deep commitment to meeting our students’ needs. That is my responsibility as Superintendent.

While I cannot change the past, I am fully focused on leading our school community through the challenges ahead with students at the center of every decision.

Thank you for taking the time to understand these recommendations.

Sincerely,

Sandra HuezoSuperintendent