PUSD Calls Latest Offer to Teachers Union ‘Best and Final’ as Salary, Class Size Remain Unresolved

The Pasadena Unified School District told United Teachers of Pasadena on Wednesday that its latest counterproposals represent its best and final offer after 10 bargaining sessions over nine months on the 2025-26 school year, according to a district bargaining update. Salary and class size remain unresolved.

The two sides are scheduled to return to the table Oct. 29, the district said.

The update was issued by the district after Wednesday’s session. It gives the district’s account of the talks, including how the district describes the union’s proposals and what effects the district says they would have.

According to the district, UTP continues to propose a 2.35% ongoing salary increase for 2025-26. The district said that increase would create additional ongoing financial obligations. The union has also proposed firm class size caps. The district said such caps could significantly reduce schools’ flexibility in developing student schedules and classroom assignments. It also said placement decisions may be driven more by enrollment numbers than by individual student needs, program considerations or the goal of maintaining stable learning environments.

UTP has also opened negotiations for 2026-27, according to the update. For that year the union is proposing an additional 5% ongoing salary increase on top of the 2.35% it seeks for 2025-26. Its 2026-27 proposals also include changes to supplemental compensation rates that the two sides had previously negotiated and agreed upon. The district said those increases would affect the cost of supplemental assignments and make them difficult to budget and plan for. It said they could also require schools to substantially reduce, or in some cases eliminate, the programs, activities and assignments they offer.

Other topics for the 2026-27 bargaining season include changes to Article VI, Hours, and increases to the CTE and Children Centers and Permit salary schedules, the district said.

The update also described the district’s finances.

At the end of the 2025-26 school year, the district gave an update on its ongoing Fiscal Stabilization Plan with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, according to the update. The district said the plan requires PUSD to address structural deficit spending and implement identified budget reductions.

In September, LACOE approved the district’s 2026-27 budget while continuing to identify fiscal concerns, the district said. According to the update, the district is projected to have unrestricted general fund deficit spending over the next three years.

The update quotes a letter from LACOE to the district. In it, LACOE said the district continues to meet minimum reserve requirements, but projected structural operating deficits in later fiscal years reduce available reserves over the multiyear period. “We therefore remain concerned that the pattern of deficit spending should be closely monitored to ensure it remains manageable and does not contribute to further fund balance erosion,” the letter is quoted as saying.

LACOE also identified several factors that could further affect the district’s financial outlook, according to the update. Declining enrollment and student attendance are expected to reduce future state funding. Labor negotiations with UTP for 2025-26 and 2026-27 are still underway, as are negotiations with all of the district’s other labor partners for 2026-27. The update said any resulting costs are not yet included in current budget projections.

In the update, the district said it “remains committed to productive, good-faith negotiations that balance the interests of employees with its responsibility to students and the broader school community.”

The update lists the district’s bargaining team as Sergio Canal, chief human resources officer; Helen Chan Hill, chief academic officer; Jen Alcazar, director of human resources; Lori Touloumian, principal of Thurgood Marshall; and Maricela Brambila, principal of Willard.

It lists UTP’s team as Bethel Lira, bargaining chairperson, of Thurgood Marshall; Jonathan Gardner, UTP president; Nathan Banditelli of the California Teachers Association; Stephanie Kaul, a teacher at San Rafael; Lisa Collins, a school nurse at PHS; Michael To, a special education teacher at Blair IB; Maureen Noble, a teacher at Jackson; Beverly Rodriguez, a teacher at John Muir High School; and John Lira, a teacher at McKinley Elementary.