California’s public schools are unraveling as expiring pandemic funds, rising pension and healthcare costs, and falling enrollment drive teachers to quit mid-year, leaving classrooms unstable, districts in financial emergency, and families watching the system crack with fear and frustration.

California’s public school system is facing one of the most severe crises in its modern history as teachers leave classrooms at a pace administrators quietly describe as “unsustainable,” triggering financial emergencies, staffing chaos, and growing fear among parents that the damage may already be irreversible.

Across districts from Los Angeles to the Central Valley, teachers are resigning mid-year, classrooms are being merged or left unattended, and students are cycling through a revolving door of substitutes who often quit within weeks.

In January alone, several large districts reported vacancy rates not seen since the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to internal staffing memos reviewed by education officials.

“This isn’t burnout anymore,” said Megan Wright, an education policy analyst who has spent months interviewing teachers, district accountants, and union leaders.

“This is structural collapse.

The system was designed to survive on temporary money, and now that money is gone.”

The unraveling can be traced back to a perfect storm of financial pressures converging at once.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, California schools received billions in federal relief funds meant to stabilize staffing and services.

Many districts used that money to hire teachers, counselors, and support staff to address learning loss and student mental health needs.

But those funds were always temporary, and they began expiring in late 2024.

At the same time, enrollment has continued to decline statewide, driven by lower birth rates, housing costs pushing families out of California, and increased homeschooling.

Because California’s education funding is largely tied to student attendance, fewer students have meant fewer dollars — even as fixed costs keep rising.

Those costs include ballooning pension obligations and healthcare expenses.

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System has required steadily increasing employer contributions, forcing districts to divert money away from salaries and classroom resources.

“Every year, our pension bill goes up, even when our revenue goes down,” said one district finance officer in San Bernardino County, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There’s no flexibility left.”

The consequences are being felt in real time by teachers like Angela Morales, a fifth-grade teacher in Fresno who resigned in February after 14 years in the classroom.

“I loved my students,” she said.

“But I was covering two classes, losing prep time, buying supplies out of pocket, and being told there was no money for support.

I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Districts have begun declaring fiscal emergencies, a formal designation that allows for budget cuts and, in extreme cases, state oversight.

In Oakland, officials warned of multimillion-dollar deficits that could force school closures.

In Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second-largest district, administrators acknowledged that staffing shortages are affecting instruction quality, particularly in math, science, and special education.

Parents are noticing.

“My son has had four different teachers this year,” said Rachel Kim, a parent in Orange County.

“At some point, it stops being about test scores and starts being about basic stability.”

Education leaders insist they are doing everything possible to retain staff, pointing to retention bonuses, mental health days, and recruitment campaigns.

But teachers and union representatives argue those measures are cosmetic.

“You can’t bonus your way out of a broken funding model,” said Carlos Jiménez, a regional union organizer.

“When teachers see districts collapsing financially, they don’t wait around to be the last one standing.”

State officials acknowledge the severity of the problem but say solutions will take time.

Proposals under discussion include adjusting funding formulas to account for declining enrollment, increasing state contributions to pension systems, and extending targeted relief for high-need districts.

Critics, however, warn that without swift action, California risks losing an entire generation of experienced educators.

Wright describes the current moment as a reckoning long in the making.

“For years, the system survived by patching holes with temporary money and hoping enrollment would rebound,” she said.

“Now the bill has come due — and it’s being paid by teachers and students.”

As the school year enters its final months, many districts are bracing for even more resignations before summer.

Administrators privately admit that next fall could bring larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, and more emergency substitutes.

For families and educators alike, the fear is no longer about whether California’s public schools are in trouble — but how much of the system will still be standing when the dust settles.