PUSD Board President Warns Community About Difficult Budget Cuts Ahead

Dear Community Member,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Board of Education with appreciation for your ongoing support for the students of the Pasadena Unified School District. I continue to see more parents and partners stepping up to assist our students with mentoring, internships, tutoring, scholarships and more.

We are in unprecedented times. Our State economy continues to struggle and as a result, funding for our schools will be reduced. These reductions will not be like any we have seen in the past. We are being forced to reduce our expenditures by approximately 10%, and 85% of our expenditures are for jobs – jobs that affect children in our community.

Over the next several months, the board will be discussing ways to decrease expenditures and increase revenue to balance this significant gap. We will be using several values to guide us. They are as follows:

1. Our decisions will be primarily student-focused
2. We will try to minimize job losses
3. We will prioritize core programs, yet remain aware of the importance of the arts and other programs
4. We will work to support efforts to improve student results at all levels

As we deal with prioritizing our budget, please know that there may be disappointments with our decisions. I invite you to attend any of the board meetings held in December – December 8 and 15 — and give us input on how we should prioritize our community resources.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. Please know that our students remain our top priority as we work to move our schools forward.

Sincerely,
Tom Selinske
President of the Board