Guest Opinion | Jonathan Gardner, United Teachers of Pasadena President: PUSD Students and Schools Deserve Stability

As the President of the United Teachers of Pasadena, I represent an educator workforce that has done everything we can to welcome back our students, despite a substantial number of us having experienced the loss of our homes and property damage. The stories and the videos of hopes and dreams burned up by this fire are still fresh in our educators’ and our students’ minds.

Bringing stability in the midst of all the chaos our community has experienced is the best path forward.

Instead, PUSD is deciding to move forward with 115 layoffs of teacher positions this year.  These are the very educators who have been forged into this fire and who have demonstrated their loyalty by doing all they can (some driving many hours a day) to support our students.

Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre have voted through Measures J and more recently EE totaling $15 million per year additional dollars to support classrooms and programs in Pasadena Unified School District. In addition, the state of California has committed funds to rebuild our schools on top of the bonds passed by our community to support PUSD students. The Governor and superintendent of public instruction have both committed to provide relief for Pasadena for the next three years.

PUSD for years has underfunded its classrooms and approved unnecessary layoffs. Just last year, the PUSD approved over 100 cuts to UTP positions, but every layoff was rescinded after subjecting educators to the stress and uncertainty of the threat of job loss. The District has voted for more than a decade to approve layoffs only to have unfilled positions in the Fall. Many teachers who received pink slips went on to take jobs in districts where their futures were secure.

$70 million a year are now being spent on contracts and outside consultants, up from $40 million just a few years ago with little to no input from the front-line educators about their effectiveness.

As a result, in the most recent audited budget for PUSD, $1.5 million less than the minimum was spent in the classroom.  The admin-to-teacher ratio was also too high, resulting in a $90k fine. A first-year teacher earns $65k.

Pasadena Unified also has the third highest reserve level of similar districts, meaning they can weather this economic storm at least enough to not destabilize our schools and classrooms.

To take California and the PUSD communities’ generosity, turn around and be draconian in these cuts is heartless, inhumane and shows that the priorities are not about stability and healing for students, but what is easiest for the central admin who benefit most from the contracts.

Jonathan Gardner
President, United Teachers of Pasadena