Guest Opinion | Todd Maddison: Pasadena Unified Layoffs

Our schools are facing a financial crisis.  Pasadena Unified is projecting a deficit of $20 million.  Like most districts they cite “expiration of one-time COVID-19 funding, declining district enrollment, and anticipated cuts in state funding” for their budget shortfall.  

To address this PUSD has joined many districts in our state to announce staff layoffs, a “reduction in force” of 196 positions.  Some of these are administrative positions, but most are either support staff or teachers – the people who help our kids every day.  They expect this to save them $9 million in the next school year.

Reaching the edge of the fiscal cliff is not a surprise to the people that run our schools.  The expiration of covid funds has been known for years.  Declining enrollment was an issue pre-pandemic, with districts projecting lower student counts.  The state’s cut in funding growth is just that – not an actual decrease in funds, just lower growth than announced earlier this year.

Fortunately many districts have built up some of the largest reserves seen. PUSD’s second interim budget projects an ending reserve of $53 million, but also projects $20-million-plus deficits each year ahead, with reserves completely depleted in a few years.  The state calls this money “Reserve for economic uncertainties,” and that uncertainty has arrived.

We often hear how “underfunded” education is in our state.  In reality, according to CA Department of Education data, K12 spending has risen at a rate of 7.6% per year in the last decade.  Almost three times faster than inflation.  The average classroom is now provided with over a half-million dollars a year on average. But despite this, a financial crises has been expected for several years. 

The financially prudent course would be to conserve reserves to avoid having to lay off employees or cut from the education of our kids.  Academic performance is in crises – doing poorly before the pandemic and taking a well documented nosedive since.  Particularly for minority and low-income kids.  In Pasadena Unified 2023 state results showed only 45% of kids proficient in English, and a miserable 33% proficient in Math. 

Now would be a good time to watch every penny and make sure spending is focused on improving those results, wouldn’t it?

But holding on to cash now would do nothing to benefit the paychecks of adults, both administrative staff and union members, so we see our unions promoting the spending down of reserves.  Not on things that improve education, but on bonus raises for themselves.  The common talking point is not “we’ve done a great job of improving education” but simply “you’ve got money now, we want it for ourselves.” 

And districts, with the approval of school board trustees elected with union support, have responded by doing as they are bidden.  Obviously the paychecks of adults are more important than the education of kids.

Last December the Pasadena Unified board knew the financial future was uncertain.  The first interim budget presentation in that meeting projected running out of money in 2025-26, and they knew once the state’s budget was settled that might be sooner.  That same meeting included discussion of possible school closures, hiring freezes, and layoffs.

The Board’s response?  Not careful management of resources to protect (or improve) the education of kids, but approval of big bonus raises, for employees.  These were raises given on top of the normal periodic increases built into the salary schedules.

In 2022 the median pay of a PUSD certificated employee was $94,274 according to the districts’ own payroll data as provided to Transparent California.  Meanwhile the US Census Bureau shows comparably educated Los Angeles County residents made $85,010, factoring in the additional year of training teachers need for certification.  District teachers made about $9,000 more than they would make pursuing a different career with the same degree.

And this doesn’t count compensation toward retirement.  PUSD teachers receive about $17,000/year more in contributions to their retirement than private employers give their workers.  We hear teachers advocating for “fair pay”, and we most certainly should pay them fairly.  Is total compensation $25,000 higher than one would make in private industry not “fair”?  Or did fairness require we take money that could have been allocated to keeping much lower paid employees and improving programs and services to kids and instead that money to improve the paychecks of adults?

“Fairness” to all employees and kids might demand the latter.  Instead the PUSD Board chose the former and approved 10% bonus raises.  According to the district’s disclosure that choice added $12 million to their deficit.  Significantly more than the $9 million they now need to save through layoffs. 

Cuts in state funding growth rates certainly make the problem worse but the Board knew this was likely to happen and chose to ignore the consequence.  And now we see the predictable layoff of hundreds of employees.  Decimating the careers of the very people who touch our kids.  

Joe Biden has said “don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value”. 

Perhaps the parents of Pasadena Unified agree with the cuts the Board has approved.   Perhaps they feel teachers making $94K need higher pay more than their kids need more staff to help them or a better education.  Whether that’s true or not, the numbers show us what the district values, and it’s not the education of kids.

Todd Maddison is the Director of Research for Transparent California, a founding member of the Parent Association advocacy group, and a longtime activist in improving K-12 education.