San Marcos Unified votes to issue preliminary layoff notices for certificated employees amid $11M budget deficit

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San Marcos Unified votes to issue preliminary layoff notices for certificated employees amid M budget deficit

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San Marcos Unified School District’s board voted to issue preliminary layoff notices for certificated employees as the district confronts a projected $11 million deficit driven largely by declining enrollment and rising costs that outpace state funding.

The special board meeting attracted a packed room of staff, parents and students who urged the board to reconsider the proposed cuts. The district has lost approximately 2,300 students over six years, resulting in $30 million in lost revenue, according to the superintendent.

Dr. Andy Johnsen, Superintendent, explained the district’s budget challenges.

“We are looking at about an $11 million dollar deficit next year, and we are not trying to close that gap all in one year. What we’re trying to do for next year is take about $2 million chunk out of that, and even that is a strain for us on our budget,” he said.

The board voted to issue preliminary layoff notices to certificated employees. Dale Plucinnik, San Marcos Educators Association President, expressed disappointment with the decision.

“The outcome for our association wasn’t favorable, because they voted to reduce 16.8 of our full-time employees’ FTEs, so it wasn’t definitely something we were hoping to see,” he said.

Plucinnik hopes the number will be lowered before final decisions are made, emphasizing the human impact of the cuts.

“What people tend to not think about is these are people, these are people that have families, these are people that have one of the most noble jobs,” he said.

Community opposition prompted the board to reconsider one proposed cut involving school libraries. The district had originally proposed cutting hours for library media techs at all 10 elementary schools. However, after receiving public comment, the board modified the plan.

Ron Tackett, CSDA San Marcos Chapter, praised the board’s responsiveness to community concerns.

“We’re happy that the board listened to the community and our staff to change that and to reconsider it,” he said. “So there were a few other people that were on the list that were not the librarian media techs, so really what they did was they carved out those librarian media techs to ensure that they could maintain their 8-hour full-time position, but moved forward with some of the other cuts.”

Johnsen attributed the district’s financial crisis to insufficient state funding.

“We need help from the state. We need the state legislature to understand that the funding they are giving to public schools is not sufficient for the rising costs that we got,” he said.

State education code requires districts to issue preliminary layoff notices by March 15. The notice does not indicate permanent job loss; rather, it signals that the district is still finalizing its budget. Final notices will be issued in May, with any approved cuts taking effect July 1 for the next school year.

Ahead of the special meeting, the district provided CBS 8 with the following statement:

As San Marcos Unified School District continues its 2026-27 budget planning, we recognize that discussions about potential staffing impacts are difficult for school communities. Like many school districts across California, SMUSD is navigating ongoing financial pressures driven by long-term enrollment declines and rising operational costs. Because state funding is closely tied to student enrollment and attendance, fewer students directly affect ongoing funding, even as fixed costs continue to increase.

The San Marcos Unified School District Governing Board will convene a Special Board Meeting on Thursday to consider a resolution related to issuing preliminary layoff notices as part of the district’s continued 2026-27 budget planning. We understand that this consideration may create uncertainty for staff members who could be impacted.

District leadership and the Governing Board are approaching this work thoughtfully, with care, transparency, and deep respect for the people who support our students every day. Before considering staffing reductions, over the past several years the district has already implemented many non-classroom cuts, including: