SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Barnard Elementary School, a school in Pacific Beach, is at risk of losing its Mandarin Chinese language program.
Parents were rallying behind the program and created a petition to retain essential funding.
"Weakening Barnard’s Mandarin program means weakening the potential of this program at the high school level," the petition said.
This comes after Tuesday night's board meeting when the San Diego Unified School District board voted to eliminate more than 400 positions to address a $94 million budget deficit.
The Barnard PTA President, Jeanette Woodward, said the school's principal told her that the Mandarin Resource Teacher position would be cut.
"We are begging the district to continue to fund this position and to believe in our program," Woodward said.
Woodward wanted her daughter to attend the school to learn more about Chinese culture and to be able to communicate with her extended family.
"I grew up here in the States, so I didn't have a lot of that myself, and so I couldn't offer that to her," Woodward said.
Parents believe the position is crucial to ensuring students succeed in Mandarin learning from elementary through high school.
Julia Boueres said her son can receive extra assistance with his learning because of the resource teacher.
"His education is really tied into that position being filled and funded by the district," Boueres said.
SDUSD Board President Shana Hazan could not confirm whether the Mandarin Resource Teacher position was among the cuts.
"But I know it is a priority for us as a district to sustain high-quality dual immersion programs," Hazan said.
The parents' petition has garnered close to 700 signatures.
