Friday, February 27, 2026

PUSD Board Approves Layoff Resolutions Eliminating More Than 160 Certificated Positions

LEAD REPORTER EDDIE RIVERA

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday night approved two resolutions authorizing sweeping staff reductions for the 2026-2027 school year, eliminating 161.35 full-time equivalent certificated positions and scores of classified positions across nearly every department and school level in the district.

The actions come as the district faces a $30 million-plus structural budget deficit and pressure from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), which had warned that PUSD risked losing local control if it did not put forward a credible plan to reduce expenditures in excess of $35 million.

The meeting included emotional public comment from parents, students, teachers, labor representatives, and community members. More than an hour’s worth of speakers urged the board to rethink cuts to programs such as science teachers, librarians, arts, athletics, and the Center for Independent Study, which families say retains students who might otherwise leave the district. A number of families described the cuts as harmful to student learning and long-term stability.

The board first voted to consider two layoff resolutions in a single combined motion, which was passed unanimously shortly after 11 p.m.

Resolution 2858 authorizes the reduction or elimination of certificated positions totaling 161.35 full-time equivalent, spanning classroom teachers, administrators, counselors, nurses, librarians and instructional support staff. 

Resolution 2859 eliminates classified positions — including custodians, security officers, clerical staff, behavioral health workers, recreation aides and technology personnel — due to a lack of work and lack of funds.

The layoffs take effect at the conclusion of the current school year. The district was required to act and serve notices to affected employees before March 15 under state education code.

Board discussion reflects tension, reluctant consensus

The vote followed an extended comments period during which over two dozen teachers, parents and students spoke in opposition to the layoffs. Every board member also spoke, revealing deep concern about the cuts’ impact on students and staff alongside a reluctant consensus that the district’s fiscal condition demanded action.

Trustee Kimberly Kenny estimated approximately 30 of the certificated reductions involve classroom teachers, driven by declining enrollment and the district’s move to staff schools strictly to enrollment ratios — a process begun the previous year but not fully implemented because of the Eaton Fire. Kenny said roughly 20 of those positions are currently vacant and unfunded, meaning those reductions would not result in an individual receiving a pink slip and would yield no budget savings. Kenny estimated the staffing-to-ratio adjustments alone represent approximately $4.5 million in savings.

Harden urged the district to aggressively communicate the rationale behind the cuts to the community, citing declining enrollment, the structural deficit, adherence to the fiscal stabilization plan and the distinction between positions that require board action and those that result in actual pink slips.

Trustee Patrice Marshall McKenzie cautioned that the reductions involve personnel matters with significant confidentiality requirements. McKenzie noted the district is required by statute to adopt three-year budgets with only one year of funding that remains uncertain until the governor signs the state budget on June 15. 

McKenzie also called for unified advocacy directed at Sacramento and Washington for additional public education funding.

Trustee Michelle Richardson Bailey delivered perhaps the most personal remarks, saying she had come to the meeting prepared to vote against the resolutions but ultimately concluded she could not in good conscience take an action that jeopardized the district’s solvency. 

Bailey expressed frustration that a lack of transparency had allowed misinformation and rumors to fill the vacuum, and said the district has a trust problem with its community. Bailey asked for a specific timeline for a plan showing how students will continue to be served and how programs such as CIS will be reorganized with reduced staff.

Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco responded that a program evaluation delayed by the fire would come to the board within the next couple of months, and that preliminary restructuring plans would follow the evening’s decisions. 

Blanco said the district has preserved all of its programs through three years of significant budget reductions but acknowledged staff have been “doing them with less.” Blanco cited a $5 million grant from Kaiser secured by Dr. Reynosto that will fund social-emotional supports for five years.

Trustee Jennifer Hall Lee pointed to what she called the root cause — inadequate state and federal funding, particularly for special education. Hall Lee said PUSD transfers more than $50 million from its general fund for special education services and cited San Francisco Unified and Fontana as districts moving $90 million each for the same purpose. Hall Lee warned that stripping special programs would only accelerate enrollment decline in a community with the highest number of private schools per capita, with approximately 10,000 children not enrolled in PUSD.

Board President Tina Fredericks framed the vote as “a starting point of a new chapter” for the district, calling for fiscal discipline around the use of one-time funds for ongoing obligations and citing guidance from the Los Angeles County Office of Education that the district must do things differently.

Certificated cuts span all levels

The largest single category of certificated reductions is Coach positions — 31 positions totaling 30.9 full-time equivalent. Elementary multiple subject teachers account for 17 positions at 17 full-time equivalent. Permit teachers represent 10 positions at 10 full-time equivalent combined. Itinerant elementary physical education teachers account for 8 positions at 8.5 full-time equivalents, and itinerant elementary music teachers represent 7 positions at 6 full-time equivalent.

The resolution also eliminates 4 assistant principal positions, 4 counselor positions at 3.4 full-time equivalent, 3 nurse positions at 2.3 full-time equivalent, 3 head librarian positions at 2.5 full-time equivalent, 2 director of special education positions, 3 coordinator of special education positions, and a principal of alternative education overseeing Rose City High School and the Center for Independent Study.

Additional classroom teaching positions being cut span high school English, math, music, computer science, ethnic studies, French, Mandarin, Spanish and physical education, as well as middle school core subjects, band, choir, orchestra, and science. Specialized positions including an elementary Green Living teacher, elementary STEM teachers, intervention teachers and special education teachers at every level are also on the list.

Five principal-level positions are being eliminated in total: the principal of alternative education cited above, plus one elementary principal, one middle school principal, one principal on special assignment and the principal of Twilight Adult School and CWA Programs.

Classified cuts hit operations, student services

On the classified side, the single largest category is Project Aide I/Recreation positions, with 64 being eliminated. Other large reductions include 17 custodian positions, 17 noon aide positions, 17 Project Aide I/Behavioral Assistant positions, 15 Project Aide II/Behavioral Assistant positions, 15 school community assistant/bilingual positions, 10 computer repair technician positions and 9 district security officer positions.

Student support roles being cut include 5 clinical social workers, 1 licensed clinical social worker, 5 health clerks, 2 career financial advisors, 2 community advocates, 1 behavioral health liaison specialist, 1 substance abuse prevention specialist, 1 wellness coordinator, 1 therapeutic behavioral services coordinator and 1 youth foster care specialist.

Administrative and operational cuts include 2 junior accountants, 1 senior accountant, 1 accounting and payroll supervisor, 1 administrator of procurement and contracts, 7 gardeners, 2 library coordinators, 1 database administrator and 2 TV producer/directors.

Seniority protections and skipping criteria

Resolution 2858 includes detailed criteria for determining the order of certificated layoffs among employees with the same seniority date, prioritizing years of full-time credentialed teaching experience, number of credentials and supplementary authorizations, graduate coursework, and advanced degrees. A random lottery would break any remaining ties.

The resolution also authorizes the superintendent to deviate from seniority-based layoffs — known as “skipping” — to retain less senior employees with specialized credentials and training in specific district programs. Protected assignments include International Baccalaureate teachers with at least 18 hours of IB training, teachers at the International Academy at Blair Middle and High School, teachers at Altadena Arts Magnet, John Muir High School Early College Magnet and Octavia E. Butler Magnet with at least 24 hours of specialized training, dual immersion teachers with BCLAD credentials in Mandarin, French or Spanish, Immersive Storytelling Academy teachers, and transitional kindergarten teachers with qualifying early childhood credentials.

School consolidation also on agenda

The board also took up Item N3, approval of desired outcomes and decision-making factors to guide a superintendent’s school consolidation advisory committee. During discussion, Kenny asked whether a criterion requiring the consolidation process to show “clear cost savings” includes revenue from asset management of vacated properties. Blanco said research shows consolidation typically saves only two to three staff salaries, and without a plan for the property, it could take five years to recoup moving costs. The transcript does not include a recorded vote on that item.

Laid-off classified employees will be eligible for reemployment under Education Code section 45298. Certificated employees will receive preliminary layoff notices from the superintendent as required under Education Code section 44949, and the district reserved the right to account for additional attrition to reduce the number of employees ultimately affected.