![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, droves of Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) students, parents, faculty and teachers hurried through the doors of the Board of Education room at the District Office to attend a much anticipated Board Meeting. The agenda for this assembly contained items of controversy, with the first topic of deliberation being Resolution #25-03: a plan to reduce or discontinue particular certificated services in order to address major budget cuts.
Many families, faculty and students impacted by the resolution attended the meeting to give public comments, hoping to influence the Board’s decision, with the Ventura Unified Education Association (VUEA) coming together as one of the most populated groups in attendance. At the beginning of the meeting, it was announced that there were 349 people in the building, including both the boardroom and the overflow room, more than 250 people outside and over 600 people live streaming the meeting. Despite many urgent comments opposing the resolution, the plan was deliberated, adopted and passed by the Board of Trustees by meeting’s end.
The meeting opened with a moment of silence for recently passed Lucian Penn, a sophomore at Pacific High School, followed by general public comment on items unrelated to the agenda. Controversy struck the meeting room when School Board President, Calvin Peterson, suggested a one-minute speaking time due to the overflow in speakers; however, after an outburst from the crowd, the Board concluded that two minutes per person would suffice.
The Board maintained that its position was very difficult; if the existing one-time funded positions are retained, there will be a $13 million deficit by the 2026-27 school year, while in the short term, the district would be $2 million shy of their required 3% minimum reserves. These budget concerns and the discussion at this Board meeting will not be considered along with any future reductions after the finalization of the 2025-26 school year budget, which will occur in June 2025.
At this point in the action items, the Board clarified that the initiative to close down libraries at the high school and middle school level was never discussed or mentioned in a public forum. A form of alternative librarian coverage had already been found for high schools, though a solution for middle schools had yet to be determined. Ben Barnett ‘26, prior to the meeting, stated, “I feel like if there’s not a space where a student can go and read … they’re not going to want to read at all, and they’re not going to make the effort to find a library not on campus.”
Mikayla Pecchi ‘25 expressed a similar view, stating, “The library is more than school novels. It’s a place where students can print homework, hang out with friends or turn in community service.”
As a result of these budget cuts, more than just the school libraries are at stake — a threat is posed to wellness centers, counselors, teachers and more. Belen Buxton ‘27 said, “I always hang with my friends in the wellness center during lunch, using all the art supplies or fidget toys, so knowing it could be shut down is really sad. I also really enjoy all their events, like with the wellness dogs, the petting zoo or when we could make our own healthy foods.”
With affirmations from President Peterson, who said, “We want to hear what you have to say” and “we are just as passionate about education as you are,” the Board opened the meeting to public comment.
The public comments went on throughout most of the night, with the speakers conveying their feelings upon this resolution. They ranged from faculty to parents and students, waiting in line so they could voice their opinion. This went on for about four hours. Throughout this time, the Board got to see different perspectives, thus recognizing who would be impacted by the changes and what they thought should be cut instead of the faculty occupations.
A public commenter said, “We were told these cuts would be made far away from our students and the reality could not be further from the truth. Cuts to librarians, teachers [and] school counselors … directly impact our students. It is absolutely jaw dropping that we are on the verge of taking away two of the safest spaces in any school … I cannot imagine a place without these people.”
Carol Peek, president of the Ventura Education Support Professionals Association (VESPA), suggested reducing positions in administration. “Honestly, I would love to see the head executives, cabinet, assistants [or] directors … take any reductions … I think that would help save jobs and they are farthest away from the classroom,” Peek said.
After over 100 public comments, the Board deliberated about the proposed eliminations. They had the opportunity to discuss the cuts in public, asking direct questions to the district leaders to get more information before voting.
The Board reached a consensus on which cuts they were not in favor of making. Once that consensus was reached, the Board proceeded to vote on amending the resolution. The amended resolution called for cuts in all positions originally listed in Resolution #25-03 with the exception of elementary school counselors, secondary counseling and teacher librarians. Specifically, the new resolution will prevent cuts to eight Full Time Equivalent (F.T.E.) elementary school counselors, four F.T.E. secondary counselors and seven F.T.E. teacher librarians.
Despite the Board’s action to protect the counselors and school librarians from elimination, the Board did vote to cut 19.28 F.T.E. from the list of certificated positions. This included assistant principals, school psychologists and a variety of secondary single-subject teachers.
Because the Board chose to save the counseling and teacher librarian positions, the Board will face the task of finding other ways to cut costs out of the budget. President Peterson communicated the importance of all board members to engage in study sessions in order to find creative solutions to solve the budget problems. Peterson also invited the public to share their thoughts on proposed cuts that would have the least impact on students’ academic, social and emotional health.
Although VUSD’s Board of Education took action on a controversial resolution, the 2025-2026 budget is in no way resolved. Future board meetings will undoubtedly revisit difficult budgetary decisions, and that will make a long-lasting impact on the students, staff and families of VUSD.
This story was originally published on The Foothill Dragon Press on February 27, 2025.