The future school sites for students displaced by the Eaton fire is expected to be considered at the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education meeting Thursday, March 27.

Parents from Altadena Arts Magnet have offered a resolution that calls for students to only return to their campus after the area within 250 yards of the campus has completed Phase 2. Students are currently attending the Allendale campus due to remediation needed at Altadena Arts Magnet and the school being surrounded by burned down structures.

The board will hear an update on the campus status of Altadena Arts Magnet, Eliot Arts Magnet and an update on the district’s bond program.

According to the district, remediation has been completed at Altadena Arts Magnet and the site is ready for the 2025/26 school year.

Taking place in the backdrop is a rally and march outside the district office by members of the United Teachers of Pasadena, parents and community members. They are calling on the district to rescind the 120 layoff notices that have been sent.

Union members, clad in red shirts, wielded signs and fanned out across the district office parking lot as speakers set up at the entrance on Hudson Avenue blasted “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

Last month, the board approved cutting 150 full-time positions due to financial struggles. Protesters rallied outside the district office prior to the board approving the cuts and called on the district to look for other ways to cut back spending.

Teacher and UTP organizer Jennifer Boynton led the group in chants on the steps of the district office entrance that included, “We take note the way you vote!”

Around 5:30 p.m., more than 100 protesters took to both sides Del Mar Avenue holding signs, blowing whistles and drawing honks from passing cars. After more than hour outside, the protest made its way into the district building where the group marched up and down the hallway outside the board meeting room.

“The district did not have our back.,” UTP President Jonathan Gardner said. “The district did not have our students or our schools’ backs.”

District officials said unless the financial situation changes, more cuts will be needed. They said the current situation is due to declining enrollment, expiration of COVID-19 relief funds and rising costs.

In response to UTP’s demands, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said in a statement that the cuts were made to ensure the long-term financial stability of the district. Blanco said the district is redesigning the Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) position.

Thanks to adjustments, federal funding and fire recovery funds, the district is creating 25 new TOSA positions and Blanco encouraged all qualifying employees, including those who received layoff notices, to apply.

“We agree that students deserve consistency and support, particularly as we navigate the recovery period following the challenges of the past few years,” Blanco said in a statement. “However, we also face the reality that without cuts, we would face an even more severe fiscal situation next year – one that would likely result in even larger reductions and a far greater disruption to our educational programs.”

The meeting started at 4 p.m. and is streamed on YouTube.