The school board passed an amended staff reduction resolution Thursday night that removed Language and Literacy Interventionist positions from a proposed list of certificated layoffs, preserving those roles for at least one year while the board receives further information about the district's plan for tiered reading and language supports.
The board approved the amended Resolution No. 25-30 after an outpouring of opposition from parents, teachers and students who argued the proposed cuts would devastate reading support for the district's most vulnerable learners. The resolution, as passed, eliminates a counselor position and a single subject Spanish teaching position, effective June 2026, as part of a broader effort to address an $11 million structural budget deficit.
Board member Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein signaled his opposition to the original proposal during deliberations, saying he was not prepared to move forward without greater clarity for the community.
"If I'm pushed to this evening, I believe I'll be on a no vote," Tahvildaran-Jesswein said.
The Language and Literacy Interventionists, known as LLIs, have provided supplemental pull-out reading instruction to fourth and fifth graders scoring in the lowest percentiles on state and district reading assessments. District officials had argued the program was becoming redundant following the adoption of a new phonics curriculum, updated English Language Development instruction and a broader shift toward delivering intervention support inside the general education classroom rather than in separate sessions.
Superintendent Antonio Shelton defended the proposed restructuring as a product of rigorous program review, saying it reflected an evolution in best practices for reading instruction.
"These evaluations are not about eliminating support," Shelton told the board. "They're about ensuring that the support we provide to students is effective, aligned and implemented with fidelity."
Critics pushed back hard. Educators and parents argued that classroom teachers cannot realistically absorb the specialized, intensive work performed by LLIs on top of their existing responsibilities. Opponents also took aim at a 2022 change in testing criteria that switched the district's universal screener from the FastBridge assessment to the STAR assessment, shifting the eligibility threshold for LLI services from the 25th percentile to the 10th percentile — dramatically shrinking the number of qualifying students.
Teachers pointed to a stark disconnect between the eligibility data and actual student performance. At one elementary school, nearly half of all students failed to meet state ELA benchmarks, yet only three students currently qualify for tier three LLI support under the revised criteria.
Several board members expressed unease with the pace of the proposed restructuring and the lack of a fully developed plan for replacing what the LLIs currently provide. Board member Jennifer Smith said she felt the LLIs' role had evolved without a coherent district-wide vision behind it and expressed concern about students losing ground academically during any transition.
Board member Laurie Lieberman echoed those concerns, saying the board needed a fuller picture of how the district's entire reading intervention program would function going forward.
"I just don't feel like we're ready," Lieberman said. "I don't see the whole yet well enough."
Board member Jon Kean acknowledged the community's fears but urged colleagues to trust the superintendent's programmatic review, noting the district had navigated a similar restructuring of reading specialist positions three years earlier.
"Taking action tonight does not foreclose anything," Kean said. "It's basically just saying we hear the superintendent, we hear our staff, that they believe this is a program that needs some adjustment."
Board member Stacy Rouse, who voted in favor of the resolution, cautioned against characterizing the changes as a retreat from reading instruction, arguing the district has been building a more robust, classroom-embedded approach for several years.
"When you hear 'cutting reading,' that sounds horrible," Rouse said. "We're really looking at redundancies and programs and growth, and we have been moving toward this for a while."
A separate item addressing the proposed layoff of 21 classified custodial staff members was continued to the board's March 3 regular meeting.
Editor's Note: The original version of this story was incorrect. An amended vote was taken by the school board to retain the LLI positions pending additional discussion while eliminating two other positions.