PUSD officials tout tax increase

 

Pasadea Unified School District Board of Education president Renatta Cooper, left, talks with Pasadena Education Foundation president George Brumder after she gave the State of the Schools Address at Blair Middle School in Pasadena. (Photo: Raul Roa, Pasadena Sun)

 

By Joe Piasecki
Pasadena Sun

Public school officials said they will protect academic advances even as they warned of a looming financial crisis at the annual State of the Schools address on Friday at Blair Middle School.

Pasadena Board of Education President Renatta Cooper and Supt. Jon Gundry told a crowd of more than 50 parents and educators that cash-strapped public schools will be dealt a heavy blow if voters fail to pass a state tax increase in November.

The school district would face a $5-million cut this school year and would lose $12.8 million next year if both Gov.Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 and Pasadena attorney Molly Munger’s Proposition 38 fail, officials said.

“There’s no way [to make cuts] without causing a great deal of pain in the district,” said Cooper, who predicted larger class sizes and a shortened school year if voters reject both proposed tax increases.

More at the Pasadena Sun.