Monrovia Unified board hears options to meet $3.8 million county reduction; consolidation, grade reconfiguration proposed

Monrovia Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Hart Rus told the Board of Education on Nov. 13 that the county has required the district to reduce its 2025–26 general-fund budget by $3.8 million, with a further $6.2 million reduction projected for 2026–27 unless enrollment or revenue trends change.

The superintendent presented four scenarios staff has analyzed to reach that 2025–26 target. "We have to reduce the budget for 25–26 by 3.8 million and a further reduction into the 26–27 year by 6.2 million," Dr. Hart Rus said during the presentation, framing the proposals as options for public input rather than final decisions.

The four options were:

- Option 1: Right-size secondary staffing to contractual ratios (31:1), which staff estimated would release about 18 teachers and one administrator for an approximate $1.95 million reduction. Staff said those counts are derived from course-section math and master-schedule projections.

- Option 2: Combine dual-immersion (DI) programs so the district would operate a single Spanish dual-immersion campus and a single English-only campus, along with right-sizing secondaries. Staff estimated this would release about 23 teachers and one administrator (roughly $2.45 million).

- Option 3: Keep sixth grade in elementary schools (K–6) and convert middle schools to 7–8, which staff said would be a net reduction of 19 teachers and two administrators and save roughly $2.2 million.

- Option 4: A combined approach (retain sixth grade in elementary, convert middle schools to 7–8 and consolidate DI), which staff estimated would release about 24 teachers and two administrators for approximately $2.7 million in ongoing savings.

Presenters repeatedly cautioned that consolidation or school closure would require a separate, multi-step process governed by state and county rules, with public hearings and additional analysis before any campus-level decision. "We can't close a school without public... process going through," the superintendent said, stressing that closures were not being decided that night.

Board members pressed staff on technical details: how teacher reductions were calculated, how many elective sections would remain under revised staffing, and how special education and categorical funds (such as Prop 28 or CTE grants) could preserve specific programs. Staff acknowledged those funds can offset some offerings but said the fiscal-stabilization exercise must focus on general-fund reductions required by the county.

Special concerns were raised about the possible impact on the district's Mandarin dual-immersion program and other successful programs that attract enrollment. Board Member Lockerby noted that district committees examining DI options have included parents, teachers and administrators and that the board has been receiving ongoing updates.

Several board members and staff highlighted a parallel strategy: increasing enrollment and reducing chronic absenteeism to shore up ADA-based funding. Staff emphasized that the district has worked to reduce chronic absenteeism from 21% to 16% in one year and aims for 12%.

The board set a path forward for community engagement: multiple town halls (Nov. 19, Nov. 22 and a virtual meeting Dec. 2 were announced in the meeting), and a special board meeting on Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. to consider formal action and submit the stabilization plan to the county. Trustees asked staff to dig deeper on Options 3 and 4 and to begin targeted negotiations with bargaining units on items that would legally be subject to meet-and-confer processes.

Votes at a glance: the board extended the meeting by vote to complete the agenda; later it approved an extended field trip for the MHS boys soccer team (Dec. 5–7, 2024) and ratified a Career Technical Education subagreement with Pasadena Area Community College (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025). All recorded roll-call votes on those items were unanimous.

What's next: staff will return to the board with refined cost estimates, the results of town-hall input, and any recommendations for negotiable contract changes. A Dec. 17 special meeting is scheduled to allow the board to act before the county submission deadline.

This item will be the principal focus of a series of community sessions and additional staff analysis; no campus consolidations or closures were approved at the Nov. 13 meeting.