In February, rumors began to circulate in the Novato community about potential budget cuts and staffing losses that would impact the Novato Unified School District (NUSD) for the 2025-26 school year.
NUSD superintendent Tracy Smith sent out an email on Feb. 28 informing the community about the district’s financial status.
“NUSD’s current approved budget includes deficit spending of $14 million in this 2024-25 year, and a projected $8.95 million for 2025-26 before any reductions are made,” Smith said in her email. “80% of the District’s budget is staffing, therefore it is not possible to reduce expenditures without affecting staffing positions.”
NUSD’s budget cuts were influenced by numerous factors including state funding, temporary COVID-19 dollars, federal funding, taxes, and student enrollment. During COVID-19, extra funding was provided by the federal government to support education. As the fifth anniversary of COVID-19 passed, the funding slowly stopped.
“We had a lot of money from COVID,” NUSD Board of Trustees President Julie Jacobson said. “We created jobs from that money and we employed people and then you spend it over time. [But our] income is not the same [anymore], and the spending [amount] is higher.”
Jacobson emphasized the importance of future spendin and income projection. Last winter, NUSD looked at the estimated third year spending projection to analyze the 2025-2026 spending to align with future budgets.
“If that third year out puts us in a place that looks financially unstable, we have to start adjusting now, because those adjustments multiply out over the next three years,” Jacobson said.
A $251 parcel tax on properties that Novato community members pay annually was also a factor in the loss of money. It is the lowest in Marin County, and helps fund certain educational opportunities.
The money received from taxpayers only covers 17% of the positions it helps fund, according to NUSD’s Chief Financial Officer Joshua Braff.
All potentially affected staff at San Marin—specia education teachers, foreign language teachers, custodians, campus supervisors, college and career counselors, and athletic trainers—were made aware of the budget cuts by San Marin’s principal Andy Boone on Feb. 28.
“The Friday that I met with staff and we started talking about the possibility of [the] impact of the budget cuts was definitely the worst day of my principalship,” Boone said.
Vivian Jensen, San Marin’s college and career specialist, is one of the potentially affected staff members. She works with students in the college application process through college fairs, scholarship information, and college essay workshops. She also works closely with first-generation students to help them with their post-high school plans.
“I think it is going to have a negative impact on students, really for first-generation students,” Jensen said. “My door is open for anyone on campus. I don’t know how it’s going to work when I am not here to connect [students to different opportunities].”
On average, a quarter of private college and career counselors cost $200 per hour, according to U.S. News. With the removal of the Jensen’s position, students who cannot afford private counselors could be negatively impacted.
The school board is trying to find alternatives to continue the college and career specialist position at both San Marin and Novato High Schools.
One option is the nonprofit organization 10,000 Degrees, which focuses on scholarships for low-income students and educational equity.
“We are trying to take some of those pieces of what a college and career specialist does and do them a different way,” Smith said. “10,000 Degrees is a non- profit that we can work with in Marin County without an extra cost to us. Additionally, College of Marin has offered to provide us with a person to specifically target some of these pieces.”
The Wellness Hub was created in the fall of 2023 with increased federal funding for students during the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, San Marin has hired multiple specialists for the Wellness Hub. However, the Wellness Hub is one of the projects potentially threatened by budget cuts.
Community members gathered at a board meeting on March 4 to make public comments about the removal of different positions.
Junior Malakhi Lindsay spoke on behalf of the many staff members he has personally worked with throughout his three years at San Marin.
“On the list [of budget cuts] there were custodians, Brendan [Graber, the San Marin High School athletic trainer], and teachers,” Lindsay said. “[The people] that are being cut from the budget are pillars to this community, and breaking down the pillars will shake the foundation.”
Kris Starn, San Marin’s Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, is also facing a potential layoff. Starn organizes trips, fundraisers, and other events that bring money into the music program.
“I am a violinist. Ms. Starn has helped me incredibly, in terms of not only a musical standpoint but a social standpoint,” Lindsay said. “Ms. Starn is the lifeblood of [the music department], so getting rid of her is essentially chopping off the head of the music department.”
After confirming budget cuts at the board meeting, board members and financial advisors finalized that mandatory preliminary notices would be issued by March 15, and the list of staff positions to cut will be completed on May 15.
The number of students enrolled in each section and the staff’s seniority were important factors in determining this.
“It is a big group of people and lots of different people. There is no easy decision made,” Braff said. “Every single one is a long discussion, and there is a lot of emotion that comes in with the idea of reducing a position.”
Until May 15, no decisions are permanent for any staff member.
