Jan 22, 2019; Los Angeles, California, USA; Thousands of striking teachers gather in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles for a rally. The teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with L.A. Unified School District. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY
California – As California’s school year winds down, nearly 3,000 teachers and counselors across the state are grappling with pink slips—a stark signal of financial strain in the nation’s most populous state and a looming crisis for public education. The layoffs, affecting districts from Santa Ana to San Diego, have sparked intense criticism from union leaders, who accuse school systems of financial mismanagement and misplaced priorities.
“We have districts sometimes who lead with layoffs and have millions of dollars in reserves and say that’s for a rainy day,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association (CTA), in an interview with ABC7. “It is raining now. It is pouring now.”
The wave of layoffs follows the expiration of pandemic-era funding and a continued decline in student enrollment. Many districts had used temporary COVID-19 relief funds to expand staffing, particularly in areas such as student counseling and academic support. With that funding now depleted, districts say they cannot sustain the same staffing levels.
“We get paid based on the number of students who are attending school,” said Ron Hacker, chief business officer of Santa Ana Unified School District, which has issued more than 260 layoff notices. “If there are fewer students, then our revenue goes down significantly.”
Santa Ana, one of the hardest-hit districts, managed to soften the blow by offering early retirement incentives. But for the CTA, the solution cannot end there.
The union has called for school boards to reassess how they allocate funds—particularly pointing to the growth in administrative salaries—and to consider drawing from reserve accounts before cutting classroom positions. According to the CTA, laying off classroom educators directly undermines learning outcomes, leads to larger class sizes, and erodes trust in public schools.
California is no stranger to fiscal fluctuation in public education, but the layoffs come at a particularly paradoxical moment. Despite being home to the fifth-largest economy in the world, California ranks low in national comparisons for per-pupil spending and classroom size.
Experts say the layoffs are part of a broader correction after years of overstaffing in certain districts during the pandemic. Michael Fine, head of the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, told EdSource in March that many districts remained overstaffed relative to enrollment, especially on the certificated side.
Still, the CTA argues that trimming teacher ranks during a period of educational recovery may cause long-term harm.
As the new fiscal year approaches, state leaders and school districts alike face a growing challenge: how to close budget gaps without further jeopardizing the future of California’s public education system.
