Burbank Teachers Association

Congratulations to BUSD 2026 Teacher of the Year Heidi VanKooten! Your dedication and commitment to our students and community deserve to be celebrated!

California students were promised funding through Prop 98—but now that money is being held back in the state budget by Governor Newsom. Classrooms need resources, not delays. Our schools, teachers, and students deserve accountability and follow-through.

Please share your support and solidarity with Little Lake educators as they fight for fully staffed schools and stability for our students.

Your donation will directly support educators on the picket line.

Let’s stand in solidarity with Little Lake EA!

Burbank Teachers Association stands in solidarity with Little Lake Education Association . Today BTA President Sarah Schwartz and State Council/ Adult School Representative Jake Baldwin joined LLEA educators and community members on day 2 of their strike to protect their health benefits, prevent layoffs, and preserve class size.

BTA President Sarah Schwartz and BTA members Mozh Jamison, Amy Fuhr, Teri Vargas, and Amanda Gonzalez had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Congresswoman Laura Friedman on the steps of the Capitol Building.

Public schools are the heart of our communities. They’re powered by dedicated educators and strengthened by the support and investment our students deserve.

Join us, alongside Learning First Alliance, in celebrating Public Schools Week 2026 and the transformative work happening in public schools across the country.

Dear Burbank Unified School District Board of Education,

The Burbank Teachers Association has been sounding the alarm regarding senior staff
vacancies for months now. It is nearly impossible to move forward from the events of June 2025, rebuild trust, and tackle the critical issues facing our schools when BUSD has left so many senior positions filled by an interim or simply vacant. The heroic efforts of educators, classified employees, and site leaders have limited the impact of these vacancies on our students, but the current situation is untenable. The recent letter from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) designating the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) as a "lack of going concern" underscores this reality.

Every single school board member knows our position on the issues. We have been clear with our demands. BUSD leadership from the Board on down must be laser-focused on restoring trust with the community. The best way to do that is through the following actions:

1. Release the results of internal investigations triggered after the discovery of alleged misconduct by Trustee Tabet as soon as legally possible.
2. Conduct a thorough, competitive, and transparent search and selection process for the next Superintendent with the full involvement of BUSD's labor partners.
3. Resolve the paid administrative leaves and vacancies in critical senior leadership
positions.

We acknowledge BUSD must meet legal and contractual requirements to take several of these actions. Whatever the Board can do must be done now.

We are eight months past the initial revelations of Trustee Tabet's alleged misconduct and former Superintendent Paramo's resignation. We have gone four months without a full-time Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. Progress on moving forward as a district has
been frustratingly slow. We will no longer accept reassurances that the Board will resolve these issues "soon.”

Our patience has worn thin. The Board must act or communicate concrete next
steps it is taking to address these issues, along with a reasonable time frame for resolution.

Educators are tired of waiting.

Signed,
The Burbank Teachers Association Executive Board

Educators stand up for the rights of all! BTA members Jake Baldwin and Mark Norberg joined fellow CTA State Council members at the No Kings Protest in downtown Los Angeles on October 18, adding their voices to the overwhelming call for democracy and justice.