Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan criticizes Silicon Valley high-performing school district PAUSD for canceling honors classes and adding new courses amid budget cuts
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan posted on X on October 29, 2026, pointing out that Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is facing a $33 million budget crunch, high school students are unable to take honors courses (the district is gradually eliminating those classes), yet it is adding other courses.
The Garry's List account he cited posted that, under this budget pressure, honors classes do not seem to be the district’s priority. Elon Musk then replied, “This is insane.”
PAUSD had previously voted 3-2 in January 2025 to merge (that is, eliminate) the freshman Honors Biology course, and voted to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement; due to factors including salary increases, the district is expected to cut about $33 million in spending in future years.
Original sources:
Title: There’s a budget crush and high schoolers can’t take honors classes... Publisher: Garry Tan (@garrytan) Publication date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://x.com/garrytan/status/2115639558935359941 Source nature: the party’s original post Verification status: This reading included the original post and quoted content, verification date 2026-10-28 Supporting content: Tan’s criticism of PAUSD canceling honors classes and adding courses amid budget cuts, and Musk’s reply
Title: Not to beat a dead horse, but really glad Palo Alto Unified is prioritizing the important stuff during a $33M budget crunch. Publisher: Garry's List (@garryslist) Publication date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://x.com/garryslist/status/2115604482629259557 Source nature: the party’s original post (with image) Verification status: This reading included the original post text and attached image content Supporting content: specific criticism of PAUSD’s priorities under budget pressure, and references to ethnic studies-related activities
ABAB AI Insight
As a high-performing Silicon Valley school district, PAUSD has continued adjusting its course structure in recent years. In January 2025, the school board voted 3-2 to merge freshman biology with Honors Biology, eliminating the separate honors class, citing reasons including reducing labeling and improving the overall foundation; around the same time, by a similar vote, it made ethnic studies a graduation requirement for incoming students, although the statewide mandate remained on hold because no funding was allocated, and some parents submitted petitions in opposition.
The district faced an approximately $33 million structural deficit in 2026, mainly due to substantial teacher salary increases (about more than 10%) and voters rejecting related tax measures. The board has instructed that classroom instruction and students with special needs should be protected first, and has hired an outside auditor to verify the need for cuts.
Tan’s and Garry's List’s criticism focused on resource-allocation priorities: while honors courses were being reduced, the district continued to advance ethnic studies courses, which involved activities such as the “Wheel of Power/Privilege” and asked students to identify their personal identity and privilege status, prompting the U.S. Department of Education to investigate multiple school districts, including PAUSD. Such adjustments have led some parents to believe that, under financial pressure, the district is still prioritizing non-academic acceleration programs rather than maintaining or restoring higher-level academic pathways.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Under budget pressure, the district’s reduction of honors courses and its push for certain required courses reflect a choice of resource-allocation priorities.
The introduction of ethnic studies-related activities has continued to spark controversy over academic pathways and course content in high-performing school districts.