Dear Superintendent Blanco and Members of the PUSD Board of Education,

We are a group of parents extremely concerned by the recommended PUSD budget cuts, including many from schools directly affected by the Eaton Fire and other recent hardships. Our children have endured significant disruption, and we are deeply concerned that the proposed Fiscal Stabilization Plan—which concentrates the majority of cuts at school sites—will only compound the challenges students already face.

We understand the need for a responsible fiscal plan and recognize that long-term school consolidation must be part of the solution. However, the current short-term approach is counterproductive and risks accelerating the very enrollment decline you are trying to reverse.

Short-Term Concerns
PUSD’s narrative emphasizes declining enrollment as a key financial driver. Yet the proposed site-level cuts—reducing teachers, specialists, and magnet-program offerings—will inevitably drive even more families away. Parents are the subject-matter experts in how families choose schools, and we can say clearly: a STEAM magnet without a full-time science teacher or an arts magnet with only part-time arts instruction is not competitive with private or nearby public options.

Magnet programs are among PUSD’s few strong enrollment draws. Stripping them to “bare bones” eliminates their ability to attract families who have the means to leave, and further marginalizes students and families from underserved groups. Once these programs are dismantled, they will be far more difficult and costly to rebuild.

Meanwhile, cuts to the central office would have far less direct impact on students. PUSD currently carries far more central office administrators than is prescribed by Education Code Section 41402. Cutting teachers while maintaining oversized central staffing worsens this imbalance and places the District at risk of state fiscal penalties—further harming PUSD’s financial stability.

Independent estimates show that $10–13 million could be saved through central office reductions and decreased contracted services alone. The District is also currently overspending on legal fees, conferences, memberships, and external contractors—costs that would not be so high if certain central functions were operating effectively.

Long-Term Strategy
A thoughtful, transparent school consolidation plan is the only sustainable long-term solution. Enrollment will continue to decline due to demographics and affordability—issues the District cannot fix. The District can, however, right-size its school system so that students receive a quality education in well-resourced schools.

Dr. Blanco’s comment at the November 10 town hall that “Most of the conversations that I have engaged in [with parents] about consolidation are about closing someone else’s school, not their own,” is incomplete and dismissive. Parents want data-driven, transparent decisions, not reactive cuts that preserve half-empty schools while diminishing academic programs across the district. Past consolidations have resulted in costly legal challenges precisely because they were not handled with transparent planning or clear criteria.

The suggestion that closed school sites will generate revenue has been repeated for years, yet has not resulted in meaningful income. Parents cannot rely on vague promises when past fiscal stabilization plans have not delivered. A more realistic path would be exploring selling or leasing properties at appropriate market value, partnering with reputable organizations (e.g., AYSO) to improve and rent fields, and eliminating deeply unprofitable arrangements—such as renting to charter schools at below-market rates while they compete for PUSD students.

Parents Are PUSD’s Largest Source of Revenue
We do not feel heard in this process. Decisions appear predetermined, despite ongoing parent input. Each enrolled child brings approximately $14,000 per year into the District. If these cuts proceed as proposed—and site quality declines further—families will leave, not out of anger, but because their children deserve stability, robust programs, and meaningful instruction.

Your current plan contradicts your goal to improve enrollment and threatens the District’s long-term financial health. We urge you to revise the Fiscal Stabilization Plan to prioritize:

• Preserving site-level staffing and programs
• Reducing Central Office and contracted services costs
• Developing a transparent, data-driven consolidation plan
• Pursuing realistic revenue generation strategies

Our children have endured enough. We ask that you protect the quality of their education by making cuts that do not harm students directly and by taking seriously the insights of the parents who invest in this District every day.

Sincerely,

Concerned Parents Throughout PUSD