The Grossmont Union High School District announced Wednesday that librarians will be back on its nine campuses starting next year.
The reversal comes over a year after Grossmont’s elected board first decided to cut dozens of student-facing staff positions. While it was not the only controversial decision the board has made, it did receive the most widespread public backlash, with hundreds packed into board meetings to protest the staff cuts.
The teachers union, Grossmont Education Association, went further, filing an unfair practice charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in November 2025.
The new agreement brings that labor case to a close. Several civil suits from affected staff continue to make their way through the courts.
The agreement between Grossmont’s board and the teachers association does not restore all 49 positions eliminated in 2025. It only covers the nine teacher-librarians who ran the libraries while also teaching research and technology skills to students.
Jason Balistreri, the former librarian at Mt. Miguel High School, praised the agreement.
“I previously described our elimination as a ‘great injustice.’ Today’s reinstatement marks a great victory for our community’s combined efforts to bring justice to this district,” Balistreri said in a statement.
The Library Media Specialists will have the option to return to their previous campus roles in the 2027-2028 school year with the same work schedules and stipends. Librarians who chose to stay in the district were reassigned to classrooms during the reduction in force push. The librarians will not get backpay, damages or financial relief from their year in classroom positions.
The librarians also will be protected from future layoffs through 2029, so the board cannot immediately reverse the decision.
“This agreement is focused on the future and serves the best interest of our East County community following a challenging period,” said outgoing Governing Board President Robert Shield in a statement.
In addition to filing the unfair practices charge, the teachers association actively campaigned against sitting board members for the first time. While Shield did not seek reelection, two others who voted for the reduction in force, Jim Kelly and Gary Woods, are on the November ballot.
Instead, the union has endorsed Jeneé Littrell, a former GUHSD counselor who led recovery efforts at Santana High School after the 2001 shooting, in Area 3, former Lakeside Middle School principal and 2026 Lakeside Citizen of the Year, Steve Mull, in Area 4, and retired West Hills math teacher Pete Mergens in Area 5.
“It’s about restoring trust, accountability and putting students first,” said teachers association president Stephanie Macceca in a statement. “Our educators decided enough was enough.”
The teachers union continues to campaign against Kelly and Woods, accusing them and the board of cronyism, governing behind closed doors and financial mismanagement.
For example, the board said the layoffs were necessary to prevent a $2.2 million budget shortfall over the next three years. However, in 2026, the board greenlit a $1.7 million infusion to athletics.
In the librarians’ agreement, the district said it was not admitting to wrongdoing and was instead reinstating librarians in order to promote “harmonious labor relations and to avoid the uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of further litigation.”
Other lawsuits have cost the district plenty, including a $1.2 million settlement in December 2025 with a special education administrator, who alleged she faced anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination from district leaders, who called her a “witch” in private chats.
