Burbank board approves fiscal stabilization plan, setting stage for staff reductions

The Burbank Unified School District Board of Education on March 5 approved a fiscal stabilization plan and certified a second interim budget that project multi‑year deficit spending tied to an enrollment decline and higher fixed costs.

The board accepted staff’s recommendation to adopt a plan that includes approximately $5.9 million in staffing and contract reductions for 2025–26 and an additional $3 million in the following year to improve the district’s reserve position. Chief business official (speaker 41) told trustees the district’s projections assume a continuing drop in average daily attendance that has reduced state funding and left the district with a projected unrestricted deficit for 2026–27.

Why it matters: The plan sets a path intended to bring the district’s reserve back above minimum thresholds and avoid more severe interventions. Multiple speakers during public comment warned the cuts would hit classroom supports, special education services and school safety, and urged trustees to look for alternatives.

What trustees approved: The board first took action to approve the fiscal stabilization plan and the second interim report; both motions passed unanimously. The meeting then included two resolutions to implement personnel reductions: Resolution 24 (eliminations/reductions in classified positions) passed on a 4–2–1 vote; Resolution 25 (certificated reductions) passed 4–1. Those personnel actions will trigger statutorily required notices to affected employees.

Community response: More than three hours of public comment focused on proposed cuts. Teachers, parents, labor leaders and students gave specific examples of how losing assistant principals, paraeducators and behavioral aides would affect supervision, extracurricular programs and safety. Several speakers asked the board to protect one‑to‑one IEP supports; district staff said any student IEP requirement would be maintained and that many proposed reductions targeted floating or contracted positions rather than mandated one‑to‑one aides.

Next steps and caveats: Staff said the budget projections remain subject to change — including enrollment, collective bargaining outcomes and state budget revisions — and described steps to tighten position control, prioritize reductions aligned to enrollment, and pursue one‑time options such as surplus property sales. The board set an explicit budget goal: to reduce projected unrestricted deficit spending by half compared with the second interim projection, a measurable target staff will use to guide budget work this spring.

The board’s votes mean formal layoff notices and contract changes will proceed as outlined; the district plans follow‑up meetings with school sites and additional communications with families and labor partners as it implements the stabilization plan.