Friday, October 31, 2025

Pasadena Unified School District Budget Committee Completes Ranking of School Service Cuts

Pasadena Unified facing $30-35 million in reductions; Board to vote Nov. 20

The Pasadena Unified School District’s Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee concluded months of difficult deliberations Wednesday, delivering rankings that chart a path toward $30 million to $35 million in budget cuts for 2026-27 that the District must make. The rankings were released Thursday night.

PUSD needs to cut the millions from its budget for the 2026-27 school year to address a major structural deficit and avert insolvency.  Failure to make these reductions could trigger a takeover by the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) as soon as January 2026.

The committee ranked school-based service reduction packages totaling up to $20 million, prioritizing cuts to career technical education programs, athletics and family engagement services as most acceptable. The remaining $10 million to $15 million in cuts will come from seven other concurrent workstreams focused on central office operations and contracts.

The Board of Education will review the recommendations at a Nov. 13 study session and vote on final actions Nov. 20.

The committee, comprising parents, students, educators, employees, labor partners and community members, ranked reduction packages from most to least acceptable. The top-ranked cuts include eliminating 3.7 full-time positions in career technical education programs, reducing athletics budgets by 25% at some schools, and cutting family engagement staff at schools with low numbers of economically disadvantaged students.

The rankings use a scoring system where lower numbers indicate greater committee support for the reduction. The most-favored package scored 0.824, while the least-favored — eliminating all custodial services — scored 4.000.

Three Years of Budget Cuts

The district has implemented fiscal stabilization plans for three consecutive years as it grapples with declining enrollment, rising costs and state and federal funding constraints.

In 2024-25, Pasadena Unified School District cut $13.8 million, primarily from central office operations. The following year, the district convened its first budget advisory committee, which identified $5 million in additional central office reductions while implementing staffing ratios.

The district had initially planned $27 million to $28 million in cuts for 2026-27, but the Eaton Fire made such major reductions untenable.

“We are facing one of the most challenging fiscal moments in our district’s history, yet our community has come together with courage and compassion to protect what matters most: our students,” Blanco said in a statement.

The committee reviewed potential cuts across 14 service areas, including safety services, student services, athletics, technology support, school administration, special programs and custodial services.

Difficult Trade-offs

The rankings reflect significant disagreement on some packages. Reductions to school administration, Multi-Tiered System of Supports coaching and clerical positions showed higher standard deviations in scoring.

Proposals that scored lowest in committee support included major cuts to custodial services, elimination of library and counseling services, and complete elimination of safety supervision staff.

“This has not been easy, but it has been honest, transparent, and rooted in our shared values,” Blanco said. “We have a moral imperative and a responsibility to remain fiscally solvent for children in our schools today and for our students in the future.”

The committee’s rankings are recommendations subject to modification based on analysis of overall impacts at school sites. District staff will present final recommendations to the board at the Nov. 13 meeting.

Implementation Timeline

If approved, reductions would begin in December. The district would issue reduction-in-force notices in March, with a new, balanced budget taking effect in July.

All committee meeting materials, presentations and the complete ranking of reduction packages are available at www.pusd.us/sbac.

“While these decisions are painful, they also reflect our district’s commitment to doing what is right, openly, equitably, and with the needs of students at the center,” Blanco said. “We will continue to engage our community every step of the way.”