Dozens of Local 1 union workers stormed out of the Contra Costa Community College District office on Friday, March 13, after the Governing Board passed a resolution to terminate nine classified worker positions at Diablo Valley College and Contra Costa College.

The approved employee cuts brings the total number of positions the district has identified as “at risk” to 118, between the three 4CD schools including Los Medanos College, following little communication or negotiation, the union asserts.

“I’ve been around these walls for 31 years and I’ve never seen such an action that we’re experiencing right now, and I’ve been through layoffs,” said Katherine Jinter, a Local 1 unit negotiator.

The vote drew criticism from public speakers at the meeting, like DVC senior program coordinator Sonya Nelson, who said the board’s decision failed to address the “elephant in the room”: salary disparities between top district executives and faculty.

Following recent pay hikes for administration, Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh now makes $447,840 annually, and Contra Costa College President Kimberly Rogers earns a salary of $296,784.

Meanwhile, classified professionals bring in anywhere from $35,292 to $137,160, with the average salary  hovering around $86,000, as of 4CD’s 2024-2025 salary schedule.

“Doing these cuts after recently approving 8-percent raises for the district’s top leadership shows the community where the priorities of this district lie,” said Contra Costa Labor Council member Joe Sommers during the special meeting.

“The funding issues that this district is facing should not be made on the backs of or at the expense of workers.”

Sommers’ criticism followed comments by District 3 Representative and Governing Board member Rebecca Barrett, who said at a board meeting last June, “Sometimes in leadership, leading from the front means that when the time comes, sometimes we are going to lead by example and tighten our own belts as leaders… particularly when we’re going to be asking some of our lowest-paid employees to accept the same.”

Governing Board President Diana Honig addressed the 8-percent pay raises March 11, saying that although the salary advancements were “contractually required,” Chancellor Mehdizadeh had “proactively” informed the board that she “would be declining future raises until the fiscal challenges that we’re experiencing now are addressed.”

The board drew additional controversy for calling the special March 13 meeting two days after a nearly identical motion to dismiss 10 classified worker positions failed to pass.

“This special meeting, held just 48 hours after the prior vote with only a single minor change, looks less like governance and more like political maneuvering,” said Jinter.

The district’s chief of human resources, Dr. Jeffrey Michaels, explained during the  meeting that item 19A was rewritten as item 4A to exclude elimination of the program coordinator for undocumented students, because the board did not want to “indicate a diminished commitment to serve undocumented students in the current political climate,” likely referring to recent national tensions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

However, Jinter had argued earlier in the meeting that “removing the program coordinator who serves undocumented students, to try to flip a vote, sends a troubling message that essential student services can be used as bargaining chips.”

Sophie Khouri, Student Trustee of the Governing Board, addressed concerns over the short notice of the special meeting, saying that board meetings usually have “tons of agenda items to vote on” that require the board giving 72 hours notice prior to meeting, in accordance with the Brown Act.

But because the special meeting had only one item on the agenda, she said, they only needed to give 24 hours prior notice.

“It kind of had to happen on short notice,” said Khouri, “but at the same time it was still really frustrating for a lot of people who wanted to make public comments but didn’t have enough time to prepare.”

Khouri added that in order to pass the resolution, the board needed to meet a March 15 deadline to notify the 118 people in “at-risk” positions, in accordance with California law.

Although the resolution only directly eliminated nine classified worker positions, many more district workers are expected to be impacted due to more senior employees “bumping” less senior ones out of their positions, according to Khouri.

The board took public comments before the final vote, and heard from many people who didn’t believe layoffs were the right option.

“President Honig, you’ve insisted these eliminations are necessary, but after these meetings you go home to stability and comfort, while the classified professionals facing layoffs, displacement and ‘bumping’ go home to stress, anxiety and uncertainty in whether they will be able to keep their homes,” said Michael Simpson, the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program coordinator at LMC.

One student worker, Teddy Thollaug, from the Contra Costa College Basic Needs office, emphasized the importance of classified worker positions, and said he is concerned about losing employment due to the district budget decisions.

“I myself am formerly homeless, and it is because of these classified individuals that I was able to get into stable housing, [have] stable funding, continue my education, keep myself fed, and keep myself clean,” said Thollaug.

“If I lose my job because of all of these cuts, then I don’t know what I’m going to do — I’m going to get stuck on a waitlist for getting a job, and for that to happen it’s going to take more than a year, and by then I will be back in a homeless shelter.”

Despite vocal pushback, the resolution ultimately passed with the necessary three out of five votes from the Governing Board.

“I really feel in my heart the things I’ve heard tonight. I abstained on the last official meeting to lay off people,” said secretary and board member John E. Marquez, shortly before casting the deciding vote in favor of 4A.

Marquez said he changed his views after further review of funding issues and the impact of the roles being cut.

“It pains me, but I will take the heat for it,” he said.

However, Thollaug expressed during the meeting that they believe the board hasn’t adequately explored all solutions to the district’s budget deficits.

“I do not want to see another result of a failed system happen,” said Thollaug. “There are too many failed systems in this county that need to be reformed.”

Edit Note: Updated April 7, 2026 to more accurately reflect annual salaries for classified professionals as provided on 4CD’s 2024-2025 salary schedule.