Teachers, Parents Rally Against $200K Coding Contract as Pool Costs Balloon

The Cabrillo Unified School Board's May 14 meeting surfaced simmering frustrations over spending priorities, as teachers and parents demanded the district drop a coding contract they called wasteful while administrators sought community and government partnerships to close a $6.1 million gap on the high school pool project. The board unanimously approved four action items and heard a major academic update from El Granada Elementary.

• Teachers and a parent urge the board to cancel the ~$200K-per-year Code to the Future contract, saying Scratch is free and the money should fund core academic staff

• HMBHS pool's preferred design exceeds budget by $6.16 million, sending the district scrambling for federal, county, and community funds

• El Granada Elementary posts strong academic results, with 86% of students improving ELA scores and a 23-point jump on state indicators

• Board approves $1.4M in Measure K spending for temporary high school classrooms and design services to keep construction on track

• Board members lobby Congress for special-education and career-tech funding during Washington D.C. trip

Three speakers — two teachers and a parent — used public comment to deliver a coordinated case against the district's contract with Code to the Future, a coding instruction program that costs approximately $200,000 per year.