Parents, teachers and psychologists urge Pasadena Unified to rescind cuts as layoffs loom

At length during the public-comment period, parents, teachers, union representatives and school psychologists urged the Pasadena Unified School District board to halt or scale back proposed staff reductions and program cuts that staff said are needed to address a structural budget deficit.

School psychologists described missing materials, lengthy backlogs on evaluations and crisis responses, and a narrow set of metrics that they said underserves students. Karina Reyes, a school psychologist, said the district’s current staffing formula undercounts essential functions and listed “15 points” of professional work that should factor into staffing decisions (SEG 936–946). Tony Sneaks and Steven Prado, also mental-health staff, emphasized the operational and equity consequences of cutting positions and asked the board to protect psychological services (SEG 1004–1076).

Parents and community members described potential damage to arts, music, library and CTE programs and warned that eliminating key services could drive families and students out of the district, reducing future funding. Commenters cited the district’s history of reductions, urged the board to prioritize classroom positions and suggested alternative savings such as administrative cuts. Several union representatives and labor partners asked the board to preserve student-facing services and to increase transparency about how the cuts were calculated (multiple speakers across SEG 1149–2360).

District staff and county representatives told the board they face narrow choices because of a structural deficit and statutory timelines; board members emphasized the need for clear communications to the community and asked staff for detailed breakdowns of which positions are vacant, which are funded by one-time grants, and how retirements or resignations may mitigate the impacts.