February 24, 2025, at 11 a.m., upwards of 100 Buena students dressed in red walked off campus to protest the recent budgeting proposals of the Ventura Unified School District Board; the closures of Ventura Unified school libraries and the cuts of many staff positions.
Just four days ago students, teachers, and staff were informed of the positions that would be cut, and it stunned many people. Wellness center counselors, single subject teachers, elementary counselors, CTE teachers, PE teachers, and music teacher’s jobs were all at risk of being laid off.
Senior Reagan Berry and fellow senior Kimberly Chavarria sat in their seats in their AP lit class, outraged, until they realized they could do something with their voices, and that they did. Organized in less than 24 hours, the walkout was created as a way to peacefully protest the Board’s decisions in their budget cuts.
“[We are doing this] to save our librarians and the rest of our staff that are potentially being cut,” Chavarria said, “[we also want] to promote the board meeting that’s going to happen tomorrow, which will be open to public comments.”
The loss of the libraries and beloved librarian, Joel Levin, seemed to be the major hit for a lot of students, including protest ring-leader Solana Warren.
Chavarria agreed with Warren going on to talk about the impact that libraries made in people’s lives. Through college applications, the Buena READ program, and by just being someone to talk to and check out books from, Levin and library assistant Patti Arcangelo have made tremendous impacts on the lives of several Bulldogs.
Homemade signs, big and small, were shoved into the air as the students marched from Buena to the government center, where they protested at the corner of Victoria and Telephone for over an hour. Students lined the block as chants such as “open books, open minds” and “I say knowledge, you say power” rang through the air, led fearlessly by Warren.
“I understand the position they are put in and I understand that the budget is tight, and I understand that it is out of the School Board’s hands,” Warren said, “however, there has to be a better solution than getting rid of our libraries.”
Junior Brennyn Emmell-Lewey made it clear that one of the things that mattered the most to many of these protestors was making sure their voices were heard and getting people to know how much they care for their school’s staff and libraries.
“If people see students protesting, they will see that we, as young people, actually care about our education and future education,” Emmell-Lewey said.
Along with Buena students, Foothill Technology High School students joined in on the walk-out, wanting to show support for their teachers, staff and librarians. And on the other side of town, Ventura students walked out in unity with Buena, taking advantage of their freedom of speech and objecting VUSD’s budget cuts.
Through social media posts, peaceful protests, and the Board meeting, Chavarria and Warren are making sure that Buena students are and will continue to be standing up for the Buena community and staff. Feb. 25, 2025, the board meeting will take place at 255 W. Stanley Avenue, 6 p.m. sharp, and you will find many Buena students there, with a strong, united voice.
