Amid a deepening fiscal crisis, the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday, Nov. 20, approved a plan to cut $24.5 million from the 2026-27 fiscal year budget, addressing an ongoing structural deficit that has prompted serious warnings over the district’s solvency and potential loss of local control.
In a 4-3 vote, the Board of Education approved three packages of reductions to school-based services, the central office and contracts. Board President Jennifer Hall Lee and Trustees Michelle Richardson Bailey and Patrice Marshall McKenzie voted no.
The nays took issue with changes to the package of reductions that had been proposed to the board by district officials. Specifically, the decision to increase central office reductions from $3.6 million to $5.1 million.
In addition the Board of Education voted to remove cuts to the Career Technical Education program and reduced the cuts to athletics.
The wide-ranging, deep cuts, from principals to sports programs to arts programs across an array of schools, approved on Thursday are part of an overall planned $30 million in reductions to be reflected in the next fiscal year budget.
They came against pleas from teachers, students and parents to reconsider the proposed cuts.
“Please keep the cuts away from our classrooms,” said Martin Dorado, a teacher at Madison Elementary School. “I know it’s difficult to make that decision, but I have no problem in saying that the single most important job in public education is a public school teacher.”
Deficit spending, declining enrollment, expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief dollars, rising costs and uncertainty in state and federal funding have all been blamed as culprits for the cuts at the district, which served 14,000 students.
But on Thursday night, talk about them could only so far, as trustees had to decide on major cuts up and down the district, including consolidation of jobs at the central office that would then shift the work to local school sites.
“We are at a major inflection point,” said Trustee Scott Harden, contemplating a package of cuts at the district’s central office. “I do think we have to put our money where our values are … .”
PUSD has been spending the fall looking for cuts within eight workstreams that included: school-based services, central office reductions, contracts, grant maximization, special education, transportation, asset management, staffing/vacancies.
The Board of Education controlled the final decisions on cuts in the first three workstreams: school-based services, central office reductions and contracts. At a special meeting last week, district official presented its recommended cuts in each of those three categories.
On the chopping block were major positions within the district, at varying levels.
For instance, at the district’s central office, principals, program assistants, administrative assistants, clerks, assistants, TV directors, youth foster care specialists and accountants were among positions eliminated, with salaries ranging from $40,000 to more than $200,000.
Trustees were faced with serious trade-offs over items such as curriculum development and professional development that would be consolidated, shifting from the district’s central office to local sites.
But that prompted questions on the dais about who would take on the work of laid-off staffers from the central office.
Contracted positions, including arts education, athletics and business services were also on the block.
But the cuts did not stop there, as the list of eliminated positions became clear.
Librarians, counselors, librarians, community assistants, security officers, bilingual aides, principals and teachers, and significant cuts to the district’s athletics program were on the list.
“I am deeply conflicted,” said Trustee Marshall McKenzie, at times in tears. “We are in a position where as leaders we’re obligated to make the courageous decision, even if it is unpopular.
“I don’t want people to think, we don’t care. How do we arrive at a solution that is least impactful when I don’t know what that path looks like?”
Trustees also acknowledged that the district was at a reckoning point.
“This is work that should have done for a long time,” said Trustee Tina Fredericks. “And we’re scrambling right now.”
Trustees voiced concern about the cuts’ impacts on administration and student learning, as well as the elimination of positions that brought significant institutional knowledge and skills.
More than 35 parents, students, teachers and district employees used the public comment period to advocate for their teachers, their jobs and their sports teams to be spared from the proposed cuts.
“It’s just hard to conceive burdening a system that’s already burdened and still bring our best to our classrooms,” said Bailey, who alluded to districts “up and down the state” that are faced with difficult financial decisions.
A Change.org petition that had been signed more than 1,000 times as of Thursday night included a letter addressed to Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco and the Board of Education laying out concerns on behalf of “Concerned Parents Throughout PUSD.”
“Our children have endured enough,” the letter read. “We ask that you protect the quality of their education by making cuts that do not harm students directly and by taking seriously the insights of the parents who invest in this District every day.”
The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) is requiring PUSD to submit an updated fiscal stabilization plan when it submits its first interim report, the first step on the path to eventually adopting the 2026-27 fiscal year budget next year.
LACOE representatives have been present at recent Board of Education meetings at once again observed Thursday’s meeting. They first presented at a meeting last month warning of what could happen if the district continued down its current path without major cuts.
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Blanco sent a message to the PUSD community in an attempt to ease concern over the impact of the looming cuts to the student experience.
“It is important to note that student learning opportunities will remain largely unchanged,” Blanco wrote. “Some specialized programs will be reimagined, and others may have fewer options, but ultimately, our students will receive an education that is far beyond what most districts of our size or smaller offer.”
Blanco said that arts and music, dual-language immersion, International Baccalaureate, college/career academies and the international academy will continue with some staff positions reduced.
In addition, high school principals and athletic directors reached a districtwide commitment to ensure that every sport is offered at at least one or more high schools.
“The majority of all sports will remain at the current levels,” Blanco said. “Strategic planning, such as limiting the number of away games and the amount of stipends allocated, is helping offset the reduction in athletics.”
Implementation of cuts will begin in December and reduction notices will be issued in March ahead of the new budget’s passage in July, reflecting the $30 million of reductions.
Thursday’s meeting was streamed live on the KLRN Pasadena YouTube channel.