Pasadena Teachers to Rally Saturday at City Hall as Budget Deadlines Loom

The United Teachers of Pasadena plans to rally Saturday morning at Pasadena City Hall, calling on the school board to take a harder look at $24.5 million in planned budget cuts as the district approaches a March 15 deadline to issue layoff notices and a March 16 deadline to submit an updated fiscal plan to Los Angeles County Office of Education officials.

The rally will call on the “Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education to prioritize students and stop harmful cuts to beloved neighborhood schools.” It starts at 10 a.m.

“The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education finds itself in the position of needing to trim roughly $30 million from its annual budget,” union president  Jonathan Gardner told Pasadena Now late last year. “Unfortunately, its approach to these cuts is utterly backwards and self-defeating.”

In a Saturday statement, PUSD said it “respects the right of all employees and community members to advocate on behalf of students, educators, and school staff.”

The District went on to say, “the Board-approved budget reflects extremely difficult but deliberate decisions made at both the central office and school sites to preserve teaching and learning while maintaining financial solvency. These actions allow PUSD to stay the course without cutting core academic programs or disrupting students’ daily school experiences.”

Organized by UTP and the California Teachers Association, Saturday’s rally comes as the Pasadena Unified School District confronts intersecting pressures: a structural deficit that has forced $30.5 million in total reductions, declining enrollment accelerated by the displacement of hundreds of families after the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and a newly launched school consolidation study that could lead to campus closures.

The county office of education has warned the district could face a loss of local financial control if it fails to demonstrate sufficient fiscal progress in managing these challenges.

About 800 teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses, and other certificated staff are represented by UTP across the district’s schools in Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre.

“They [the school board] listed cutting the health clerks at our school sites, who fill in for our nurses,” UTP President Jonathan Gardner said in a statement to CTA’s Educator magazine in November. “They looked at cutting counselors and librarians to the contractual requirement.”

The Board of Education voted 4-3 on November 20, 2025, to approve $24.5 million in cuts for the 2026-27 fiscal year, with trustees Kimberly Kenne, Scott Harden, Tina Wu Fredericks, and Dr. Yarma Velázquez voting in favor. Board members Michelle Richardson Bailey, Patrice Marshall McKenzie, and then-President Jennifer Hall Lee voted against the package.

The approved reductions include approximately $17.2 million from school-based staff — teachers, librarians, gardeners, and office workers — along with more than $5 million from central administration and more than $2.2 million from contracts for outside services, according to the district. Combined with grants and revenue generation, the total fiscal stabilization plan reaches $30.5 million, roughly 16% of the district’s projected $189 million general fund.

Gardner has argued the cuts fall disproportionately on classrooms. In a November guest opinion, the UTP president described the budget approach as “utterly backwards and self-defeating,” writing that “the absolute maximum that would be cut from Central Offices would be $5 million while the absolute minimum that would be cut from schools would be $18 million.”

The district has said it is making the reductions required to remain solvent. Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D., told the community that “student learning opportunities will remain largely unchanged” and that PUSD students “will continue to receive an education that is far beyond what most districts of our size or smaller offer.”

The fiscal crisis predates the Eaton Fire but was deepened by it. The wildfire displaced approximately 862 PUSD families, according to the district. Enrollment dropped by roughly 500 students in the current school year as families relocated.

PUSD’s enrollment has been declining for years — from about 21,000 students two decades ago to fewer than 14,000 today. A 2023 study by Davis Demographics projected a further 26% decline by 2029-30.

Los Angeles County Office of Education projections show the district’s unrestricted reserves could fall to 3.80% by 2027-28 — barely above the 3% minimum required by California law.

In December, the board voted to launch a formal study of possible school campus consolidation. Resolution 2852, passed in December 2025, established minimum enrollment thresholds — 300 for elementary schools, 400 for middle schools, 900 for high schools — below which campuses could be flagged for review.

Board member Richardson Bailey voted against the resolution, saying, “There is not enough data, factual data at this time, for something this critical to be passed.”

The consolidation study is being conducted by Total School Solutions, a Fairfield-based consulting firm. Applications for a community advisory committee are due by February 9, with the committee’s first meeting set for February 23. Recommendations are not expected until October 2026, and any approved closures would take effect at the end of the 2026-27 school year, according to the district.

The rally will also occur against a statewide backdrop of teacher labor tensions. On January 31, members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted 94% in favor of authorizing a strike. San Diego teachers have planned a one-day school closure for February 26, and San Francisco educators have also voted to authorize a strike.

At an October board meeting, Jackson Elementary parent Matt Schneider told trustees: “9,000 homes vanished overnight, and every day I take my kids a different way to school so I don’t have to drive down Lincoln and look at the shell of what used to be in our neighborhood. The last thing we should be doing as a public school district is talking about what we can do to get away with less for our kids.”

At the January 22, 2026, board meeting, Blanco said of the consolidation process, “The presentation and Board action marks the beginning of a thoughtful and inclusive process, not a predetermined outcome.”

The rally took place at 10 a.m. at Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue. The School Consolidation Advisory Committee application deadline is February 9. The next PUSD Board of Education special meeting is scheduled for February 12. Public comments may be emailed to publiccomment@pusd.us. The board’s next regular meeting is February 26.

The March 15 statutory deadline for reduction-in-force notices is five weeks away. Whether the cuts ultimately reach the levels approved in November depends on the outcome of ongoing negotiations between UTP and the district — and on whether LACOE accepts the district’s updated fiscal plan on March 16.