![Veronica Rodriguez files through teacher copy requests. Rodriguez has received an outpouring of support from teachers following a recent decision by Palo Alto Unified School District to cut her position. “I'm part of the team for the students and their education,” Rodriguez said. “I'm not a teacher, but I'm helping teachers and I feel very devastated about the decision they [district] have taken.”](https://anthromagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IMG_9647-1200x958.jpg)
Reams of paper line the walls. Copy machines whir with flashes of white and blue. Mountains of worksheets spill out of the machine. This orchestra of printing and paper has been conducted for 22 years by Veronica Rodriguez, Palo Alto High School’s production technician.
The music has been replaced by teachers rallying around Rodriguez following an announcement in late January by the Palo Alto Unified School District that her position is being cut at both Paly, along with that of her counterpart at Gunn High School.
Paly teachers have created a petition signed by over 100 teachers, sent emails individually to administration and many plan to attend tonight’s board meeting to communicate the importance of Rodriguez’s role.
Rodriguez said that the decision was shocking for her.
“It was heartbreaking for me because I’ve been doing this job for over 20 years and it’s always busy, I always have a lot to do,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t understand why they [the district] took that decision.”
According to AP Capstone teacher Lucy Filppu, Rodriguez plays a crucial role in teaching.
“Teachers at our high schools are working in dynamic interchangeable environments,” Filppu said. “We need to change up tests, assessments, we write our own curriculum and we are also moving back to paper … The copy technician makes 110,000 copies a week for our teachers, saves us hours and hours of production work. There’s an essential need for this service.”
Mimi Park, a Paly English teacher, said that this will introduce many logistical challenges.
“I can’t imagine what’s going to happen when you have 100+ teachers trying to use two machines every morning in order to make all of their copies,” Park said. “Someone’s going to break those machines because we don’t know how to use them.”
According to Daniel Nguyen, a Paly math teacher and head of negotiations for the Palo Alto Educator’s Association, this issue highlights a disconnect between teachers and the district.
“This connects to [PAEA] negotiations in the sense that the district has a lot of money sitting around earning $6.4 million of interest annually,” Nguyen said. “It’s not clear why they aren’t using that to support our teachers and our students to become the best district again.”
Rodriguez said she hopes that with community support, she might be able to keep her role.
“I want to say thank you to the teachers for supporting me,” Rodriguez said. “I feel that they’re part of my family in the way they are there for me and I’m there for them. Please don’t cut my position. Teachers and students need my help. I do my work with passion and love because I like my job and I want to stay here for a long time.”