On Tuesday, February 10, the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education voted 5-0 to keep current student support staff for the 2026-27 school year, halting earlier plans to cut several positions.
The vote happened during a presentation on the district’s draft 2026-27 budget. District officials said the budget was created using a zero-based approach, meaning every expense had to be reviewed and approved instead of automatically continuing from previous years.
Administrators said the district is facing rising prices; utilities and medical insurance costs are expected to increase. To reduce expenses, district staff initially proposed cuts to school support staffing.
“We are projecting ongoing savings of 2.5 to 2.8 million, but those savings do not fully absorb the border cost increases,” Chief Business Officer Charen Yu said.
During the public forum segment, teachers, staff and parents asked the board to protect student-facing positions.
Several speakers said support staff play a key role in student learning and well-being. Palo Alto High School science teacher Samuel Howles-Banerji said that teachers and support staff work together to form the foundation of the district and described the role educators play during times of crisis.
“We are the ones writing letters of recommendation, sitting with students while they mourn the loss of friends and noticing the subtle changes in mood that indicate something is wrong,” Howles-Banerji said. “You don’t support students by cutting the people who support them every day.”
Maribel Ramirez, the executive vice president of the Palo Alto Special Education PTA, raised concerns about cutting English learner specialist positions. She said that without those specialists, multilingual students could be mistakenly placed in special education programs when their needs are related to language development, not disabilities.
Longtime Palo Alto High School economics and history teacher Eric Bloom also spoke about the impact of removing operational support roles, citing his own experience with a campus support staff member.
“The value and support [the staff member] offers me makes me a better teacher and makes my students smarter,” Bloom said.
Following the forum, board members began questioning whether cutting such positions would match district goals, which include improving reading growth and supporting all students.
“My concern is student-centered,” board representative Alison Kamhi said “I worry students will lose services and that that will impact student learning and student outcomes.”
After discussion, the board voted unanimously to maintain current student support staffing levels for the next school year.
Moving forward, the district is expected to return in April with updated budget information and additional proposals as budget planning continues.
