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By Alexander J. Schorr
Photo, left: Sign on table urging recall of four GUHSD trustees.
May 11, 2025 (El Cajon) -- The Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) governing board refused a last-ditch chance to rescind its layoffs of credentialed teachers, librarians, counselors, and psychologists at the May 8 board meeting, despite angry comments from constituents.
After the public session, the board adjourned to a private session and returned with a surprise announcement that the majority had voted to accept the resignation of newly named Chief of Staff Jerry Hobbs, who has become mired in controversy.
Many parents, teachers and students have grown increasingly bitter and distrustful of the governing board majority, with dozens fearing for their futures ahead of layoffs.
At a rally outside the Grossmont High School event center before the meeting there,
students, teachers, parents, librarians, GEA and community members protested the firings of 49 full-time credentialed teachers and 9 librarians, as well as other staffers. Chants 
of “save our schools, support our students” rang out.
A table held flyers and a petition to recall the four trustees Scott Eckert, Gary Woods, Robert Shield, and Jim Kelly, who voted for the mass firings in February, prompting months of protests and meetings packed with hundreds of people opposed to the action.
The meeting officially began at 6:07 p.m. Trustee Kelly recommended that the agenda item for discussion and public comment over the layoffs be moved to the beginning of the meeting; trustees unanimously approved amendingthe agenda.
Frustrated teachers, students, and community members aired their grievances once more in protest of what the speakers called unnecessary cuts.
District Responds to Public
Acting Superintendent Sandra Huezo argued on behalf of the board majority, saying the cuts were “difficult and necessary” in growing uncertain economic and financial times. She stated without evidence or examples that “other districts were going through the same hardships.”
Trustee Eckert argued that it is unwise to rely on the money in the district's reserves to bail out the school district in the future for the possibility of a recession, though similar to before, the board has not illustrated the calculations or motive behind the need for mass firings.
Eckert pointed out, ”We don’t know what the Governor’s budget is, so we can’t just wait.”
Huezo added that the trustees ““sincerely care, and I understand, but this must be done.”
None of the board majority members fielded individual questions or comments. Communication between community and board members has been done through acting superintendent Huezo.
Speakers Air Grievances
GEA President James Messina stated,”We are not in a financial crisis,” adding that the GUHSD “does not need to make any cuts to employees or any restructured changes, now or in the future.”
Messina illustrated the irony of finalizing the cuts during Teacher Appreciation Week, since many parents and staff view the slash and burn financial policies as a “slap in the face” to community members.
The GEA President reiterated that Grossmont spends “87% unrestricted on salary and benefits,” adding, “Schools Services, the company all districts use for financial support, advises districts to spend between 85% to 89%. San Diego County has 42 public school districts, and all of them have spending percentages within this range, just like Grossmont does.” He added, “The first interim reports of Poway and Sweetwater districts show they unrestricted spending of 89% last year. Santee and Lakeside are at 88%...School Districts are not supposed to hoard funds or turn profits. Today’s tax dollars are used to educate today’s students to improve society.”
A sophomore of Grossmont High School who wished to remain anonymous suggested the layoffs demonstrate “the board’s lack of understanding for how it affects us.”
Other students (photo, right) criticized the gutting of their dancing program, calling the cuts “deplorable.”
During the first 30 minutes of speakers, with each individual given three minutes to speak, the typical sentiment expressed was that the board is refusing to be transparent with community members, including refusing to answer emails and not giving specifics as to justifications for the specific cuts and firings of full-time positions including teachers, librarians, and counselors.
The Grossmont High School Dance Department was a focal point of the meeting’s contention, with members chanting “let them dance.”
One mother, who spoke out against cuts from 2024, stated that the posts of the board majority members on social media were inflammatory and gaslighting. She said that while their justification was based on financial means and concerns, “This past year has revealed otherwise through your appointment of multiple hiring positions.” She said that the board offered no evidence for a justification to cut key positions in the district to save money. She suggested a possible motive of the board majority, calling the firings of librarians and counselors a result of the board’s “narrow-minded values.”
Her comment referred to religious views and social media posts from the board majority members referencing intolerance of LGBTQ+ students and black history month, further compounded by hot mic comments such as “the gays are coming for your children.”
She slammed the dismantling of student services and mental health programs. Additionally she referenced how the board majority sought to remove specific books pertaining to LGBTQ+ characters or criticism of systemic injustice and racism, stating, “The GUHSD tech team had already explored those same books from the staff seven years earlier, and several of the authors of those books had publicly condemned the board’s actions on social media during the layoffs.”
Trustee Fite Prevents a Brown-Act Violation
An uproar from the audience arose before the board made a move to leap-frog public discussion about the cuts. One of the agenda items was to go over deliberations with the public concerning the cuts. Board president Woods was preparing to skip over this section of the agenda, with shouts of “illegal,” “Brown-Act violation,” and “cowards” interrupting the speaking process.
Trustee Fite, the only trustee who voted against the cuts, called for public discussion. The discussion involved the usual justification for the cuts by the board according to “calculations” made by Sandra Huezo (which she did not detail), reiterating the same sentiments from before.
Afterwards, the board refused to second a motion from Fite to rescind the layoffs.
Student Board member Maggie Kelly, visibly distraught and upset, left the board podium and exited the building at 8:29 p.m. The board then took a recess where they reconvened at 9:45 p.m. for the closed-door session.
Hobbs Resigns
Only Board President Woods and Trustee Fite returned; the others had exited the building. At 10:36 p.m. the two members said that they had accepted Jerry Hobb’s resignation and will pay him an additional 1-year salary of $186,000.
The board drew sharp criticism when it appointed Hobbs to the newly created position in March at a hefty salary, at the same time numerous staffers were being sent pink slip notices of layoffs.
Hobbs resigned from the Grossmont school district seven years ago after being investigated for misconduct. An investigation cleared him, finding that he had been retaliated against, along with several other employees. Hobbs has told ECM that he was retalited against for standing up against segregation of disabled students.
He became a paralegal and went to work at the law firm JW Howard Attorneys, which drafted a settlement agreement that allowed Hobbs to work at the district again.. However, according to a memo written by John Howard, the principal attorney, Hobbs used language without his and other attorney’s knowledge: the language, Howard stated, was “illegal” and allowed Hobbs to return with full tenure.
The district has offered no explanation as to why Hobbs resigned after only recently being hired back as Chief of Staff, or whether he was asked to step down amid the recent controversy widely covered by local media outlets.
The latest deadline to undo the pink slips is designated for May 18th, with the board majority unlikely to reconsider their layoffs. With an impending recall campaign underway, and an unwillingness to rescind pink slips, the governing board and the GUHSD community remains posed for continuing conflict.
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