Due to budget cuts, 33 Redwod teachers and administrators were laid off in 1981.

A total of 51 teachers across the district were eventually laid off, all of which were made official on May 8, 1981.

Superintendent Anthony Trujillo was the author of Resolution 18, which originally intended to reduce the district faculty by 57 full-time teaching positions.

“The basis of the layoffs is to save $1 million in order to cope with the inflationary situation in materials, maintenance, and salary increases,” Trujillo stated.

During their February 24, 1981 meeting, the Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved Resolution 18. Programs and staffing voted out of the TUHSD budget for the 1981-82 school year included: the vocational rehabilitation program, driver’s education, and the extension of contracts for intramurals directors and department chairpersons.        Counseling services were reduced by a total of three counselors across the district. The elimination of courses among different departments ranged from a cut of seven sections of social studies to only one section of business, while the English department expanded by 10 sections. Classes also increased in size, with many PE classes enlarging from 15 students to as many as 40.

The main complaint concerning the budget cuts was that they were made without any opportunity for community input.

Superintendent Trujillo responded to the complaints by stating, “I don’t want to give someone a knife and say, ‘Tell me how I can cut your throat.’ I’d rather cut their throat and say, ‘Tell me how I can patch it up.’”