Parents, teachers press Pasadena Unified board to halt closures and layoffs, warn of damage to vulnerable students

Dozens of public commenters told the Pasadena Unified School District board that proposed school consolidations and layoffs would harm students, erode community trust and spark enrollment losses.

Parents and teachers made recurring themes: accessibility and inclusive campuses, program continuity, and the trauma‑informed harms of closures. “A student should not have to stand up and bravely and eloquently argue in front of you that their school should exist so that they have a right to learn,” said Brian Buckley, a Don Bonito parent. Teacher Katherine Mickelson told trustees that only “33% of our students are proficient in math, only 45% in reading,” and said staffing cuts and unresolved central‑office costs make proposed reductions especially painful.

Martin Dorado, the district’s Pasadena Unified Teacher of the Year, urged trustees to reconsider layoffs that would leave classrooms with 36 students. “Is this the stability that we’re referencing?” he asked, saying layoffs of veteran teachers undermine student continuity.

Several parents and teachers who work with special‑education students warned that consolidating two special‑needs–heavy campuses would create an outsized concentration of students with complex needs and asked how the district would equitably staff such a campus.

Union and labor representatives urged the board to pursue alternatives to layoffs, flagging unexamined central‑office positions and outside contractor costs as potential savings. A labor spokesperson said the union is pressing district leadership to resolve grievances and preserve positions where possible.

Board members heard the comments as the district moves through a consolidation advisory process and budget deliberations; trustees asked staff for clarifications about staffing‑ratio methodology and noted the committee has estimated limited savings from consolidations. The board did not take immediate action on the consolidation items during the meeting; several trustees said they wanted more data before any final decisions.