About 100 people filled the Pasadena High School gymnasium Monday, Nov. 10, where Pasadena Unified School District officials spent the evening fielding community questions and assuring that despite unavoidable, painful cuts its core services will remain intact.
The gathering was the second such town hall the district convened to keep the community up to date on the ongoing effort to address a structural deficit that is the result of declining enrollment, deficit spending, rising costs, the expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief dollars and uncertainty in state and federal funding.
Several tables set up inside the gymnasium were each designated a different category including programs and services, asset management, facilities and staffing. Community members, students, district employees and parents selected a table that then engaged in discussion resulting in questions.
Many attendees opted at first to observe from the bleachers but at the request of the town hall organizers joined one of the tables for the discussion period.
A panel of district officials, including Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco and Board of Education President Jennifer Hall Lee, fielded questions from the community at the conclusion of the event.
The questions covered revenue generation from property sales; school consolidation; how equity will play into final cut decisions; attracting teachers, staff and families despite cuts; whether community volunteers or fundraisers can fill the gaps; and visioning for the future.
At the end of the event, parents and community members chatted in small groups as they made their way out of the gym. Emma Green, a Marshall Fundamental parent talked with fellow parents about the feedback they got from the district.
“I think our voices are being heard,” Green said. “I think it’s a very hard decision for them to make and I’m not sure they’re really ready to make the decision.”
Blanco and Hall Lee began the town hall with an overview of the district’s financial situation and what steps will be taken to accomplish fiscal stability.
PUSD students Lula Matsuura of the student assembly and Matea Miyake-Trapp with the student think tank encouraged students to be the center of discussion.
Miyake-Trapp, a sophomore at Pasadena High School, said her family lost their home in the Eaton fire and spoke about future of the district, which she sees through her sister who is in sixth grade.
“Now is the time for bold and visionary leadership,” Miyake-Trapp said. “We as student leaders call upon everyone, the superintendent and board, our teachers and staff, PUSD families as well as our fellow students. We can change the narrative and work together toward what we can confidently expect to do with instead of focusing on what we must do without.”
PUSD held a virtual town hall last week where district officials presented the process for the ongoing fiscal stabilization plan that the district has been required to complete due to its ongoing financial crisis.
This fall the district has been working in eight workstreams to identify $30 million to $35 million in cuts that will be reflected in the 2026-27 fiscal year budget. They include the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee, central office reductions, contracts, grant maximization, special education, transportation, asset management and staffing to ratio/vacancies.
The committee, tasked with focusing on school-based services, concluded its work last month which culminated in a list of priority-based list of reductions. On Thursday, Nov. 13, the Board of Education will hold a special meeting to review the committee’s list of recommendations. On Monday, Blanco said district officials made adjustments to the committees recommendations based on discussions with principals and union partners.
A week later on Nov. 20, the board is expected to take final action on reductions from the committee, central office reductions and contracts. Implementation of the reductions begins in December, reduction notices will be issued in March and the new budget reflecting the cuts is due to be passed in July.
“I just think a lot of big decisions need to be made and it’s hard.” Shelby Knight, a PHS parent, said. “I just hope they’re all looking out for the good of all students.”
For more information, visit pusd.us/budget. A recording of the town hall will be posted on the KLRN Pasadena YouTube channel later this week.