Ever since Superintendent Antonio Castro sent out his message to all Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) staff and families on Jan. 30, 2025, many have been wondering what the budget cuts will mean for the jobs of teachers and other VUSD staff.
The budget cuts are a direct result of a decrease in student enrollment as well as competitive staff salaries. “Over the past few years, our district has received one-time federal and state funds that provided crucial support intended to address significant student needs resulting from COVID,” Castro writes, “Unfortunately, although these temporary funds have run out, we continue to face the challenges of residual learning loss, ongoing declining enrollment, and the need to maintain and improve competitive salaries for staff.”
Consequently, VUSD is being forced to cut out $6 million — and much of the faculty with it. Teachers as well as staff all over the district are at risk of losing their job, and this has been a cause for concern for many.
AVID coordinator and biology science teacher Naiyma Houston shares her thoughts on the subject, “Budget cuts are always hard and disappointing, kind of jarring as a teacher,” she said, “You think about yourself and how it can affect you, how it can affect students. It’s always something that you hate going through — it’s always hard.”
As a newer teacher to the district, Houston mentions that she is a little worried about being cut, or “pink slipped.”
“I’ve gone through it before in another district,” she states, “And even if you’re not pink slipped, it’s hard when you lose your friends and you lose others, it’s just always unsettling. Any type of layoff … It affects those that are laid off and those that are left behind, in any industry.”
So, what is pink slipping? According to Houston, pink slipping is something that may happen to staff when “there is a reduction force,” and “you’re let go because of a budget or budget crisis.”
“In education,” she elaborates, “It’s our state budget, but it could be an engineering company, they could work for government contracts, and [if they lose] government contracts … they have to pink slip.”
Her sister, who is an engineer, has been pink slipped three times, “We’ve been commiserating [on possibly] losing our jobs in 2025.”
Over the past four years, the student enrollment in VUSD schools has dropped by over 1,500 students, according to Ed-Data. Many teachers, particularly those who are newer in the district have been very worried about losing their jobs, due to this stark and quick decline. On the other hand, many who have been present in the district for a longer period of time will get a raise.
Not only does this affect the staff, but it may greatly impact the students, as well as many families across the district.
Houston finishes, “Even though I haven’t been going to the board meetings, I’m confident that they most likely are necessary, because it’s something every district is going through.”
