More than two dozen speakers urged district to delay workforce reduction vote, citing budget surpluses and harm to students prior to board’s decision to approve the layoffs

[Revised] Dozens of Pasadena Unified teachers, parents and students crowded a Board of Education meeting Thursday, urging trustees to halt a proposed round of layoffs they said would destabilize classrooms, cut essential programs and further strain schools still reeling from the Eaton Fire.

Twenty-six people submitted public comment cards for the Feb. 26 meeting, prompting the board to cap remarks at two minutes per speaker. One after another, speakers pressed trustees to delay a vote on reduction-in-force resolutions, arguing the cuts were driven by conservative budget assumptions rather than the district’s actual financial position.

“This feels like the movie Groundhog Day,” said longtime PUSD teacher Armando Mayer. “The same conversations, the same decisions, the same consequences. It is disheartening to say that it feels like we haven’t learned a darn thing.”

In the end, the school board voted unanimouslyto approve the layoffs.

Budget Concerns and Contract Issues

Much of the opposition was organized by United Teachers of Pasadena under the theme of “safe, stable, fully staffed schools.”

A union representative told the board the proposed reductions would affect about 46 teachers, including an estimated 32.3 middle and high school positions, 3.4 counselors and 2.3 nurses and librarians. He said the nurse and librarian cuts were “almost certainly against our contract” and that approving them would likely constitute a contract violation.

Several speakers argued the district has more money available than acknowledged. Parents cited additional funds identified since the November budget process and said mid-year financials showed millions in additional revenue compared to projections. 

One parent said PUSD has historically budgeted “in an overly conservative way for decades, leading to unnecessary issuance of RIF notices that just get pulled back over the summer.”

A group of four parents pointed to an extra $10 million documented at a December board meeting, saying it could preserve MTSS coaches, custodians, bilingual aides, clerical support, IT technicians, library coordinators and science, music and international academy positions.

The UTP representative also said PUSD has 168 classified and certificated management positions for next year, nearly double Alhambra Unified’s 85, and cited audit findings the board was set to approve that evening showing the district spends only 42% on classroom instruction — below the 55% state minimum. Approving the cuts, he said, would lock in a fifth consecutive year of noncompliance.

Fears of Program Loss and School Instability

Parents from fire-affected Altadena schools delivered some of the most emotional testimony. One Jackson Elementary parent whose family lost their home, said her nearly 5-year-old son “needs art. He needs music. He needs the tools of expression for him to be able to figure out what it is that he’s gone through.”

Another Jackson parent said families had raised money to hire an instructional aide after fire-related enrollment losses, only to now face losing the school’s science teacher and potentially music, PE, arts, garden and custodial staff. 

“Parents shouldn’t have to bootstrap the failures of PUSD just to give our kids the education, stability and opportunities that they need and deserve,” she said.

At Octavia Butler Magnet Middle School, one parent said some students had cycled through nearly 20 science teachers since the start of the year. She noted the school’s library had been recognized as a finalist for a national award by the American Association of School Libraries, and warned that proposed cuts threatened that progress.

Students, Psychologists and Community Staff Join Opposition

Students from the CIS Academy independent study program also spoke. One senior credited teacher Scott Phelps with helping him earn a full-tuition scholarship to Tulane University. 

Several speakers warned that the cuts would accelerate family flight from the district. 

One parent warned the board that approving the resolutions as proposed would cause a shift from “fight mode” to “flight mode” among families and staff. “Amazing teachers and staff will leave. Your most loyal families will leave, and it will all be on your watch,” he said.

Calls for Community Action

One Longfellow parent called on the community to organize, pointing to a recent four-day teacher strike in San Francisco that she said resulted in fully funded family healthcare, raises, special education support and sanctuary school protections. 

“It’s time for us to do the same,” she said. “Our community is in crisis, multiple crises.”