Letter to the Editor:
At the March 5 meeting of the Burbank Board of Education, up to 55 jobs were cut from next year’s budget, impacting teachers, administrators, aides, and other staff. These cuts are the result of reduced funding, declining enrollment, and fiscal mismanagement. According to the Fiscal Stabilization Plan presented by district leadership in BUSD, the deficit could reach nearly $38 million by Spring 2028, meaning additional and potentially deeper cuts are likely ahead.
School districts across California are facing similar challenges—staff reductions, larger class sizes, and cuts to programs such as physical education and the arts. BUSD has faced difficult financial periods before and still managed to provide a high-quality education. But the way the district handled those moments in the past looked very different from what we see today.
Previously, there was transparency about financial challenges rather than last-minute surprises. District leadership engaged stakeholders, bargaining units, parents, and community groups as partners in finding solutions.
BUSD has long served as a refuge for families from neighboring communities such as North Hollywood, Glendale, and Los Angeles, where parents sought work permits so their children could attend BUSD schools. Families trusted that BUSD would protect students from the kinds of severe cuts seen elsewhere.
In the past, the district also benefited from ethical board leadership capable of making collaborative, fiscally responsible decisions without self-interest. The Fiscal Services department was fully staffed and able to present clear, reliable financial data to guide those decisions.
That is not the case today.
The district’s Fiscal Services department remains seriously understaffed despite warnings from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team in February 2024 urging the district to fill critical gaps. Meanwhile, legal costs have continued to rise, and two administrators hired and supported by the Board have since been terminated with nearly a million dollars in payouts combined—roughly the equivalent of two years of the district’s entire elementary PE program. Gone.
Scandals, lawsuits, and ongoing controversies have eroded public confidence and contributed to declining enrollment, further reducing district revenue.
At a recent Board meeting Dr. Aghakhanian spoke about the need for a voter approved and paid for Parcel Tax to help close the school budget gap. I can only speak for myself, but I venture to guess many if not a majority of Burbank voters will share my opinion. There is no way I can say yes to giving another dollar to THIS Board to manage.
BUSD is not only facing a fiscal deficit crisis. We are also facing a deficit of oversight. A deficit of transparency. And a critical deficit of trust.
Alexandra Helfrich
Burbank
