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The Menlo Park City School District may reduce funding for its library, world language and band programs as it works to trim $4.1 million from its budget over the next three years, following several years of seven-figure deficits.
The district’s budget challenges stem from multiple factors, Superintendent Kristen Gracia told the school board on Jan. 15. One of the largest cost increases in recent years has been the addition of transitional kindergarten. Because the district is classified as “basic aid” due to its high level of local funding, MPCSD does not receive additional state funding for its transitional kindergarten program.
“While we deeply value early learning, the cost of adding this additional grade level is an example of why MPCSD is challenged to balance its budget year after year,” Gracia said.
According to Gracia, district officials are looking to cut roughly the same amount as the cost of transitional kindergarten.
Gracia said identifying more than $1 million in annual reductions is particularly challenging for a district like MPCSD because the vast majority of its budget goes to personnel costs. Around 90% of the district’s $77.5 million budget is spent on staffing, leaving roughly 10% for what the district calls “operational” expenses, like supplies.
“We run a very efficient organization when it comes to operational expenses so our budget is people, which makes this exercise very difficult,” Gracia said.
The cuts are focused on the district’s general fund, excluding bond funding used for capital expenditures such as building and facility improvements. By law, general obligation bonds cannot be spent on salaries.
What’s on the chopping block
On Jan. 15, Gracia presented a list of cuts under consideration to meet the board’s $4.1 million target. She told board members that she will use the information and feedback from both the board and community members to develop a plan to present in February.
She hopes to get the “green light” to implement cuts at the board’s Feb. 12 meeting so the district can notify staff of any layoffs in March.
About half of the proposed cuts come from the district office with the other half being shared across the district’s five schools, according to Gracia. She also said she tried to minimize the effect on “student-facing” positions.
The largest share of cuts proposed comes from restructuring the district’s Educational Services Department, which offers schools professional development and support programs. As part of cost-saving initiatives in that department, the district hopes to reduce spending by $1.57 million over the course of three years.
Starting in the 2026-27 school year, the district will eliminate its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion coordinator (saving $155,073) and reduce spending and travel for professional development ($5,600). In 2027-28, the department will cut its world language coordinator ($160,114) and an administrative staff member ($66,943). In 2028-29, the department will remove a coordinator focused on data and assessment ($265,073) and all instructional coaches ($800,000).
The department also will reallocate funding for the Early Learning Center director ($117,733) to be funded outside the general fund.
The next largest share and most controversial category facing decreased funding is the district’s plan to cut enrichment programs by $1.27 million. Starting in 2026-27, students in elementary school will no longer have a world language program ($365,098) outside of the district’s Spanish immersion program. The field trip budget also will be cut in half ($100,000).
However, speakers at the January board meeting were most concerned about the proposed cuts to fifth-grade music and district libraries.
Among the options under consideration for the 2027-28 school year are eliminating fifth-grade band and orchestra classes ($315,000), cutting library aides ($73,384) and reducing the library program overall ($414,000).
“As someone who has been here as long as I have, it is kind of heartbreaking to see,” music teacher John Ashfield told the board.
Previously, fourth- and fifth-grade students had the option to take either general music classes or learn to play an instrument in band and orchestra classes. According to Gracia, 200 out of the district’s 300 fifth graders chose to take either band or orchestra class.
The district has already eliminated fourth-grade differentiated music, but the proposed cuts would eliminate fifth-grade differentiated music as well.
Without exposure to instruments, Ashfield is concerned about the impacts it will have on middle school music programs since students would have had no experience playing instruments.
“Middle school has already been impacted by cutting fourth-grade music but by eliminating fifth-grade music, it kind of just reduces middle school to just beginners,” Ashfield said. “A big problem I have is that students who can afford instrumental music, lessons and instruments will still be able to do that. But there are a lot of students who can’t.”
Several board members asked Gracia to figure out other ways to reduce expenditures to save the fifth-grade music program. Several community members and teachers also spoke in favor of reducing the cuts to the library program.
“My previous school’s library functioned mostly as a checkout desk to the trickle of students who visited and that changed entirely at Hillview because (Hillview Librarian) Aimee Mathenia was relentless in her pursuit to collaborate with teachers and support instruction,” Hillview Middle School English teacher Jessica Ross said.
“In fact, tomorrow I am taking my classes to the library so that (Mathenia) can support me in teaching research and note-taking of reliable sources for ELA 7’s (seventh-grade English Language Arts) new curriculum on human rights, for which Aimee has played an integral role in securing funds and developing,” Ross added.
Other cuts the district is considering is merging math intervention, which was started with one-time funds from the pandemic, with reading intervention ($321,636). The district also will eliminate all math aids ($185,612), Spanish immersion interns ($13,455) and campus monitors ($286,000).
The district is also looking at removing funding from technology, saving $383,886 by reducing tech subscriptions, extending device lifecycles and sharing more devices.
The district hopes that by cutting some programs, it will be able to stop deficit spending and improve its financial outlook. For the 2024-25 school year, the district had a $1,346,535 shortfall and expects to have a $165,709 deficit for this, the 2025-26 school year.
Editor’s note: This story was corrected to clarify that MPCSD is required to offer TK and to correct Mathenia’s first name.
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Maybe it’s time to consider merging Menlo Park School District with Las Lomitas School District.
We might also consider how the City Council’s plan to bring a thousand new residents into high-rise low-income apartment complexes in our downtown parking lots, including many families with children, would impact our schools.
We recently moved to the area and are renting for this first year. My child is currently in a MP preschool. We are in the process of looking at purchasing a home, but this brings that to a halt. I will not live somewhere where public schools are not the first priority. I realize the people complaining about low income housing coming to the area, (we are well above low income) do not care about public schools, but with the tax base available there is zero reason to not be expanding programs – yet alone eliminating programs. This is shameful. It is self-serving to people who have the privilege of private schools and will eventually lead to lower home values and a rise in unintended consequences. I was raised being progressive meant supporting and sending your children to public schools.
I live in MP and teach in RWC. Huge cuts are common to both districts. We pay huge property taxes that fund schools, but we are seeing more cuts. Educational measures keep increasing our property taxes , yet the districts are still making cuts. Maybe we need to stop voting in favor of these measures and demand that Sacramento explains themselves to us ! Our students deserve the best since we are paying a premium for their public education through our 5-digit property taxes.
FDB: The reason stated for “cuts” is the offering of the Pre-K program that you are taking full advantage of. Perhaps if you were so progressive, you would write a check for the “free to you” program.
Clearly since you are a progressive, and you have not educated yourself on the district, how it is funded, history of bond measures, teacher salaries, etc. I suggest you look elsewhere for housing, since our values are clearly not aligned with your expectations.
We do in fact write a check for the full price of the program every month. We won’t be using the universal to all Pre-K option, but I also will not shame or criticize anyone who does.