{"id":223983,"date":"2026-03-17T17:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/223983\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:39:08","slug":"california-school-districts-issue-thousands-of-pink-slips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/223983\/","title":{"rendered":"California school districts issue thousands of pink slips"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this article first appeared on\u00a0EdSource<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In late February, the Oakland school board approved more than 400 layoffs<\/a> for next school year that cut deep into central office functions and vital school site roles. The list included school counselors, nurses, and literacy tutors; it also included community school managers, custodians, food service workers, instructional aides, lunchtime supervisors, and restorative justice facilitators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand to lose nine beloved faculty and an additional eight face significant reductions,\u201d Ella Every-Wortman, a teacher at Frick United Academy of Language, told the Oakland Unified School District board at its Feb. 25 meeting. \u201cThis impacts the educational experience of our students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Oakland was not alone in signing off on massive numbers of layoffs.<\/p>\n

Thousands of California school employees have received preliminary pink slips in recent weeks as districts scramble to close budget gaps caused by falling enrollment and rising costs. Los Angeles Unified School District alone issued more than 3,000 notices in February. Most around the state went to school administrators and classified school staff, such as clerks, administrative assistants and paraeducators.<\/p>\n

Districts were complying with a state law that requires<\/a> them to send preliminary pink slips by March 15 to any employee who could potentially lose their job before the beginning of the next school year. Many of the notices are withdrawn by May 15 \u2014 the last day final layoff notices can be given \u2014 as districts make decisions based on seniority and evolving budget projections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year the layoffs have taken a dramatic turn as district leaders increasingly target classified and central office staff to balance budgets.<\/p>\n

School districts across the state have lost both average daily attendance funding, due to declining enrollment, and federal Covid dollars. At the same time, districts are paying more for pensions, health care, and special education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have some large school districts and even some mid-sized and smaller school districts that are in complete financial crisis right now, and on the verge of insolvency or going into receivership,\u201d said Troy Flint, chief information officer for the California School Boards Association. \u201cWhen the deficit is so great you almost have to make hatchet-type cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

District offices in the crosshairs<\/p>\n

District staff have been targeted by many districts beyond Oakland. In Sacramento City Unified, everyone working in the district office, including the interim superintendent, was issued a pink slip. Los Angeles Unified<\/a> is also planning to make major cuts to their central offices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe board directive, ever since we declared the deficit, has been pretty clear: Whatever cuts we have to make, keep them as far away from the classroom as possible,\u201d said Brian Heap, Sacramento City Unified\u2019s chief communications officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

District officials can\u2019t say how many employees at the Serna Center \u2013 Sacramento City Unified\u2019s headquarters \u2013 will ultimately lose their jobs until they complete a plan to restructure the office, Heap said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to have somebody running payroll. We have to have somebody in the business office. We have to have somebody in our academic office,\u201d Heap said. \u201cBut what does that look like? That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacramento City Unified officials have announced they will send layoff notices to 800 employees, most who are classified employees, to help reduce a $134 million budget deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certainly nervous,\u201d said Heap, who also received a pink slip. \u201cI mean, I\u2019d be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Unified school board <\/a>voted <\/a>in February to issue 3,200 layoff notices, including 657 to central office staff and other centrally funded classified positions. The layoffs, expected to actually result in 650 lost jobs, are estimated to save the district about $250 million. The district is facing an $877 million deficit next school year and $443 million the following school year, according to board materials.<\/p>\n

And Oakland Unified has made plans to cut up to two-thirds<\/a> of its central office staff along with counselors, case managers, attendance clerks, community school managers and other support staff to make up $21 million of an estimated $102 million deficit. The district\u2019s layoff plan<\/a> includes not only 421 preliminary layoff notices but also reduced hours for an additional 144 employees.<\/p>\n

Nonteaching jobs often cut first<\/p>\n

Classified staff are often targeted for layoffs for practical and political reasons, Flint said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [districts] try to concentrate layoffs among classified staff and administrative personnel simply because teachers have the most direct impact on student experience and academic achievement, and because teachers \u2014 as the school employees who are most well known to parents and the community \u2014 generally are the most sympathetic profession in the education field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The California School Employees Association, which represents about 240,000 of the state\u2019s K-12 classified school support staff, reported that at least 2,700 pink slips had been issued to its members by the state\u2019s March 15 deadline. An additional 519 members received notices that their hours would be reduced and another 254, whose jobs are funded by federal dollars, were given 60-day layoff notices, according to a union report issued on March 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Districts should make sure they have cut every possible expense before they start removing staff from school campuses, CSEA President Adam Weinberger, who works in the Perris Union High School District in Riverside County, argues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen classified employees are laid off, students lose more than services; they lose trusted adults in their lives \u2014 bus drivers, educators, custodians and office staff who build relationships with our students. And those connections are essential to a safe and supported learning environment,\u201d Weinberger said.<\/p>\n

California school boards also approved layoff notices for administrative staff and workers represented by other unions, including members of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 50,000 classified school employees in California districts including OUSD. SEIU officials could not be reached to provide information about the number of members who received layoff notices.<\/p>\n

Teachers didn\u2019t get off unscathed<\/p>\n

Even with efforts to shield teachers from layoffs, more than 1,900 pink slips were sent to members of the California Teachers Association by March 13, according to the union. The union represents teachers, librarians, school healthcare workers and school counselors. Last year, a similar number, about 2,000 teachers<\/a>, received notices.<\/p>\n

The pink slips are being issued at the same time that many bargaining units of the CTA and other unions are negotiating with their school districts for new contracts, most asking for higher salaries and improved benefits.<\/p>\n

San Diego Unified approved a contract with its teachers early this year that prohibits the district from laying off teachers or other certificated staff for the 2026-2027 school year. Instead, the district sent layoff notices to 133 classified school support staff, according to the CSEA.<\/p>\n

San Diego Unified board member Sabrina Bazzo said she is proud of the decision not to cut teachers, saying it\u2019s not what is best for students.<\/p>\n

Other districts are laying off large numbers of teachers, as well as classified support staff.<\/p>\n

According to the CSEA, Long Beach Unified officials planned to send pink slips to 515 teachers and other credentialed staff, 15 to managers and 54 to support staff. Santa Clara Unified planned to send pink slips to 113 credentialed staff and 49 to classified workers. Antioch Unified approved a resolution reducing its credentialed staff by 104 positions and its classified staff by at least 193 positions, according to a union report.<\/p>\n

Pasadena Unified indicated it had issued 161 pink slips to its credentialed employees and 240 to classified school support staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reductions are significant and affect every school and department in our district,\u201d said Pasadena Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco in a statement. \u201cWe are living within our fiscal reality, as difficult as it is, to protect student learning, the district\u2019s long-term ability to serve future generations, and local control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annual ritual causes anxiety<\/p>\n

Many have called the annual ritual of spring layoff notices disruptive to schools and demoralizing to the employees who receive them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur members are working paycheck to paycheck, and they\u2019re looking for stability,\u201d Weinberger said. \u201cI know we have many members that get one every year and then they\u2019re rescinded \u2014\u00a0and that creates instability in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, those employees begin to look for other, more stable, jobs to ensure they can provide for their families, he said.<\/p>\n

Ed Source reporter Mallika Seshadri contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

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