The West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education is proposing to slash 10 percent of its workforce to pay for $15 million in new union raises and address a $127 million structural deficit.
During a special meeting on Jan. 9, the board passed Resolution No. 2526-48, which warns that “prompt actions” are required to prevent the district from falling into state receivership. Receivership, or a state takeover, occurs when a district can no longer meet its financial obligations. In this scenario, the locally elected school board would lose its decision-making power to a state-appointed administrator.
The fiscal crisis was triggered by a widening gap between rising labor costs and falling state revenue, according to the district. While the district recently reached tentative agreements with its two largest unions for 8 percent salary increases, those raises were not included in the original budget. Staff said these raises will cost the district an additional $15 million over the next three years, necessitating deep cuts elsewhere to stay solvent.
The negotiated union raises came after a historic, well-publicized union strike occurred from Dec. 4-10 last year. To balance the books, the district has set a goal of $60 million in total budget reductions for the 2026–27 school year. The primary strategy for these savings is a 10 percent staff reduction across all bargaining units, which is expected to result in the loss of about 140 full-time positions within the United Teachers of Richmond alone. The board also signaled it will explore “right-sizing” the district by merging or closing under-enrolled schools, and increasing class sizes to the contractual maximum of 35 students.
To maintain daily operations, the district said it is rapidly draining its reserves. Officials said the $28.5 million special reserve fund will be completely exhausted, while another $13 million is being pulled annually from retiree health benefit accounts. The board added “equity guardrails” to the plan, requiring staff to analyze how these cuts will impact Black students and schools with high concentrations of low-income families. A final list of layoffs and/or school closures must be approved by the board in February.
