In August, students across the county began to pick up their backpacks and head back to school, and as students head back to school, Growing Up in Santa Cruz sat down with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE) to look ahead at the incoming school year and the challenges on the horizon.
Looking forward, said Faris Sabbah, the Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools, part of our promise to our students and families is that “we are providing the environment where students are able to learn about their role, amplify their voice, and to be able to participate in the democratic process.”
As part of this goal, the COE has been expanding its youth leadership programs, such as its Youth-Led Leadership Alliance, which offers students opportunities to work on projects and initiatives on the issues that matter to them, added Sabbah. The program offers seven groups focused on different interests and identities.
They are also planning to establish a governance council for the leadership alliance, Sabbah said. This is due to the program’s growth, and the county office hopes to have students play a role in guiding its future direction.
Additionally, in the coming year, the county office is planning to continue to support its adult education Career Advancement Charter program—focused on helping adult learners receive a high school diploma—and starting this fall, expanding the program in partnership with Cabrillo College to offer a new Certified Nursing Assistant program, said Nick Ibarra, Director of Communications and Engagement.
“We as a county office look for those opportunities and then develop those opportunities to be able to expand and serve and help students and to be able to further their educational experience,” said Sabbah.
However, the upcoming school year will not be without its challenges, explained Sabbah, adding that declining enrollment and the current federal government are currently high on his mind.
Current projections from the State of California Department of Finance show that, within about a decade, County Enrollment is expected to decline by about 17% by the 2034-35 school year.
“Its important to note that Santa Cruz County has one of the highest levels of declining enrollment in the state,’ said Sabbah. This school year is projected to see an almost 1,000-student decline, from nearly 37,000 students in 2025-26 to just over 36,000 this year.
Within the county, some districts are being hit harder than others, Nick Ibarra, Director of Communications and Engagement, added.
According to Ibarra, in recent years, Pajaro Valley Unified School District has seen “proportionately larger enrollment declines in recent years”—projected to decrease by about 17% from 2024-25 to 2034-35—compared to 9 other districts within the county.
The pandemic also has continued to be a factor in declining enrollment, Sabbah explained, and a “significant portion of students are missing over a month of school every year, and that affects the services that they get, as well as their academic achievement and learning outcomes,” said Sabbah. This creates new challenges for both students and schools, said Sabbah, adding that the COE is working to navigate this and support school districts in ensuring they remain fiscally solvent.
‘Our funding is based on how many students are in their seats, and if we have less students, we get less funding,’ said Sabbah, explaining that funding for the COE is based in part on the average daily attendance (ADA) of students.
“In the adopted 2026-27 budget, approximately 23% of General Fund revenue is associated with ADA-based Local Control Funding Formula revenue,” added Ibarra over email.
State-level funding is also being tracked by the county office. Following Governor Newsom’s approval of a new budget, Sabbah said, referring to the statewide Proposition 98 settle-up obligation.
“Prop 98, which is kind of a guarantee based on how much funding comes funded from the money that the government collects from taxes mostly. And there’s a guarantee of how much of it goes to education. And the governor has made the decision to withhold $3.9 billion of that guarantee,” said Sabbah.
While this does not directly reduce the COE or local districts’ adopted 2026-27 funding levels, Ibarra explained, it means local educational agencies will not receive significant one-time funding that would have helped address current fiscal pressures.
“And we advocated—lots of folks in education advocated against that,” said Sabbah, because it “belongs for our students and for our communities to serve them.”
