Pasadena Unified School District trustees approve layoffs, impacting more than 160 positions

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday, Feb. 26, voted to reduce more than 160 certificated and classified positions as part of an ongoing effort to curb a financial crisis.

Trustees voted unanimously, shortly after 11 p.m., to follow the reduction plan they approved last fall in the face of significant criticism from teachers, staff, students and parents in attendance. The November vote slashed $24.5 million as part of an overall $30 million reduction from the upcoming 2026/2027 fiscal year budget.

More than 25 people, including teachers, students and parents, spoke during public comment, all in opposition to the proposed reductions using phrases like “Groundhog Day” and a “broken record” to describe the feeling of once again facing a round of cuts.

They cited potential cuts to art and music teachers, and bilingual instructors as examples of particularly harmful losses to schools and students.

Parents talked through how cuts had them contemplating moving their children out of the district and argued that reductions would have the opposite effect if it led to a mass exodus from PUSD.

Members of United Teachers of Pasadena stood and held signs when a fellow member spoke during public comment. The signs read “Fully fund the classroom” and “Manage the budget.”

Trustees lamented being in the position, once again, to make difficult cuts. But they pointed to their duty to be responsible stewards of the district’s financial health. And they framed the difficult moment as a chance to re-set a culture of spending in the district while also bolstering trust.

“I would like to see a new vision. A new way of doing things,” said Board President Tina Fredericks.

But she acknowledged that the cuts will make next year “really hard,” as smaller staffs recalabrate to the everyday demands of the city’s public school system.

Last year the district went through a process that sought to make cuts and find more dollars within school-based services, the central office, contracts, grant maximization, special education, transportation, asset management and staffing vacancies. The $24.5 million reduction voted on by the Board of Education came from the first three workstreams.

In a message to the PUSD community sent just hours before Thursday’s meeting, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco wrote that while reduction-in-force notices must be issued by mid-March, notices are preliminary and part of a broader process that continues through June 30.

Blanco said that vacant and funded/budget positions along with unfilled and unfunded positions will be included in the proposed layoff resolutions.

“Between now and the end of the fiscal year, a number of variables may occur, including retirements, promotions, resignations, and other staffing adjustments, that can affect final assignments,” Blanco wrote. “For that reason, it would be premature to confirm any specific changes in staffing levels at this time.”

Declining enrollment, rising costs, expiration of one-time funds and uncertainty in state and federal funding have left PUSD with a $30 million-plus deficit and warnings from the Los Angeles County Office of Education that inaction could result in the district being placed under county receivership.

LACOE officials attended Thursday’s meeting. Ahead of the vote on reductions, Octavio Castelo reiterated the need for hard decisions to be made and the consequences for not moving forward with reductions.

Last year, the Board of Education voted to reduce 150 positions while the total number of people laid off ended up being fewer after a process guided by state law and the collective bargaining process.

District officials Thursday also provided an update on the first meeting of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee that will be meeting throughout the spring before potentially offering recommendations to the Board of Education, which has the final say on any closures or consolidation.

The final decision on any recommendations is scheduled to be decided at the June 25 meeting and any school consolidation would take effect for the 2027/2028 school year.

Thursday’s meeting was streamed live on YouTube.