Budget cuts heighten concerns for West Contra Costa English learners

RICHMOND Budget cuts have been years in the making for the West Contra Costa Unified School District But for what several consider one of the the majority underserved groups in the district English learners there is a fear that they may be among the hardest hit by approved reductions Of the roughly students enrolled in the district almost a third are English language learners meaning they cannot speak fluently or learn effectively in English based on a language literacy assessment Being labeled as an English learner affords a learner additional support partly subsidized by additional state funding that is meant to help the trainee get reclassified to fluent English proficiency status But two members of the district s Multilingual District Advisory Committee Stephanie Sequeira and Erika Cruces de Zavala argue a gaping divide between promised and delivered services for English learners has existed for years English learners are points below base math standards and points below meeting base English language arts standards according to the majority fresh evidence from the California School Dashboard which tracks aspirant performance for those in third through eighth grade and juniors About of English learners are making progress toward English proficiency and about are college or career ready according to the evidence Sequeira and Cruces de Zavala say they ve been ringing alarm bells for years and now worry in recent times approved budget cuts worth about million will only further harm learning opportunities for English language learners It s really hard to push forward anything when no one understands Sequeira declared There s no one really overseeing and even caring enough to oversee and justify whatever it is our English learners need Of the positions the board agreed to eliminate during a Feb meeting about were English language growth reading coaches two were bilingual paraprofessionals and about two were bilingual instructional aides Cuts to another nearly special training paraprofessionals about two dozen teachers a dozen instructional aides social work specialists speech and language pathologists plan assistants and specialists and administrators positions were also approved Those total cuts are on top of the million worth of reductions approved last fiscal year and another million of cuts slated to come next fiscal year Board President Leslie Reckler speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the district s board noted budget reductions do not equate to fired employees Specific employees have been warned they may be let go but official pick slip notices are expected to be sent out by May The budget cuts have been a long-time coming Reckler explained The last time the district was on stable economic footing was between and having just finished paying off a million state loan the district had received after going bankrupt in the s Reckler stated But by the district s budget deficit had ballooned again to million and cuts were needed to balance the books Then the COVID- pandemic struck and district leadership opted against reductions Reckler commented opting to use one-time state and federal urgency dollars to keep the district running That COVID money has since dried up operating costs have continued to rise and enrollment declined which all forced the district s board of trustees to again grapple with the cuts originally called for five years ago Reckler commented A change in federal administrations have also created additional budget uncertainties for the district which has already lost a million loan for mental wellness services interim Superintendent Kim Moses revealed during a West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting last week We are not alone We re in an extremely tough situation and for us this is not a surprise though Reckler disclosed These reductions were planned for years As for how budget cuts will impact English language learners Reckler reported no group was specifically targeted Reductions are being made at all levels including among administrators she reported One way to improve trainee outcomes and the district s finances is to reduce chronic absenteeism Reckler explained while also acknowledging that a variety of factors are keeping students from school including mass deportation threats by the Trump administration that caused a dip in attendance in January and February According to the district about of students district wide were chronically absent during the - school year and in - meaning they missed at least of class instruction Increasing the district s average daily attendance rate from to could raise an additional million Moses has declared Once at school though selected English learners aren t getting the attention they require mentioned Lucero Garcia a social worker with the James Morehouse Project Wellness Center which provides wellbeing services counseling and youth advancement to El Cerrito High School students A few of the students she works with directly commented they feel discouraged and unmotivated in classes where they don t understand what s being taught and their teachers occasionally grow frustrated Cuts to counselors and other advocacy staff will likely make matters worse Garcia noted The hard part is not that I believe people are trying to be bad Garcia announced I think there are so several other moving pieces that I think make English Language Improvement students remain at the bottom or often they re not sure what to do to help because there is such a need for ELD especially for newcomers There s so much sponsorship needed Various parents feel similarly out of their depth when attempting to advocate for their attendee explained Garcia Sequeira and Cruces de Zavala All three have spent years rallying and organizing parents around their and their child s rights within the district and say particular parents are unaware of what accommodations the district is supposed to make for their child or that budget cuts are even happening Those who have immigrated from struggling countries feel they should be grateful for what they already receive while particular are afraid to create problems the three women revealed A lot of families feel it s their fault mentioned Cruces de Zavala whose son is a seventh-grader in the school district They don t speak English and feel bad because they feel they need to speak English to advocate for themselves Garcia knows personally how challenging that experience can be When first enrolling in the district at years old she was labeled as an English learner Despite already knowing chosen material like her alphabet she was put in classes with students who were at lower grade levels Still she exposed a region there Once a lecturer realized she should likely be reclassified Garcia was put into standard classes where she felt unsafe and disconnected At present she wonders why she wasn t properly evaluated before her initial classroom placement and worries that approach causes families to hide that they speak Spanish at home to prevent their students from facing similar healing I remember being so disheartened After switching I would tremble in class and stop going Garcia revealed That venture was created to provide advocacy for our students but because it wasn t well managed and you don t get extra advocacy you don t want it District representatives did not straightaway respond to a request for comment