Ahead of a crucial week in the Pasadena Unified School District’s ongoing school consolidation process, Altadena is looking to weigh in.
While the unincorporated town is not part of the city of Pasadena, Pasadena Unified’s schools serve its residents.
That’s why on Tuesday Altadena Town Councilmember Isis Moulden was reminding his community of what’s at stake for the fire-scorched town if schools close or are merged into others.
During the Town Council’s meeting, Moulden, who sits on the Town Council’s Education Committee, said even Altadenans who don’t have a child at a PUSD school should be invested in what happens with consolidation, because some of them literally are: through bond measures.
“This would be a travesty if we had no more schools in our community, so it’s important that we all show up as a community and speak on our behalf,” Moulden said.
Moulden said voters passed bond measures R and EE in 2024 and Altadena homeowners are included in those paying annually from assessed property value.
Measure EE levies a $90 per parcel fee for eight years generating $5 million annually. Measure R authorized $900 million of bonds with audits, legal rates, average levies below $59 per $100,000 of assessed valuation while outstanding, raising $57 million annually.
Measure EE implemented a parcel tax to expand programs for science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM); enhance career training and college readiness courses; provide competitive wages for teachers and staff and hire counselors and mental health professionals.
Measure R similarly focused on expanding classrooms for STEAM while also aiming to replace leaky roofs and repair deteriorating electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems.
Measure R is at the heart of the district’s longer term strategy to sustain itself.
In her State of the Schools address last week, School Board President Tina Fredericks noted that these funds are not simply about rebuilding, but reshaping how the district operates for decades to come.
Fredericks framed the bond strategy as a shift from short-term fixes to long-term efficiency.
“This work must be backed by strong financial planning,” she said, outlining how the district is leveraging one-time bond dollars to create ongoing operational savings.
Bond funding is also being used to modernize campuses into safer, more innovative learning environments with upgrading facilities, enhancing outdoor spaces, and creating green infrastructure designed to serve both students and the broader community.
Moulden, the Town Council member, called on residents to make their voices heard at Pasadena Unified School District town hall on Tuesday about the ongoing school consolidation process.
That process comes as the district faces serious enrollment declines, rising costs, economic uncertainty and a $30 million structural deficit that have already led to staff cuts and stark warnings from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, an oversight agency.
The prospect of consolidation has sparked parents and other stakeholders to urge the district to take another approach and not add on another traumatic change for students still reeling from the Eaton fire. Some parents warned that they would leave the district if their school ended up closing.
At both the March meeting and at its most recent meeting, Thursday, April 23, dozens of parents and students attended and spoke out against closing schools and advocated for their school to be spared.
Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education trustees and district leadership have seen a preview of public opinion at recent meetings.
The Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee will be voting on Monday, May 11, on a series of consolidation scenarios presented by the consulting firm Total School Solutions. So far, the scenarios have covered K-8th grade schools and include:
-Merge Don Benito Elementary School to Willard Elementary School;
-Merge Webster Elementary School to Longfellow Elementary School and Norma Coombs Elementary School;
-Merge Eliot Arts Magnet and McKinley School and close McKinley. McKinley elementary grade students would go to Hamilton, Madison or Washington.
Included with each scenario presentation was a review of the financial implications, including how much in bond money would be saved in each instance. In the first scenario, approximately $15.3 million could be saved if Don Benito TK-5th grade students moved from the campus, according to the consultant.
In scenario two, the savings would be about $7.5 million. If McKinley School was closed as part of the third scenario, about $6.08 million in bond money would be saved.
Total School Solutions is expected to present its consolidation scenarios for secondary schools at the Monday, April 27, meeting that begins at 5 p.m. at district headquarters, 351 S. Hudson Ave.
The Board of Education will make the final decision on any potential consolidation scenarios, which if approved would take effect for the 2027-2028 school year.
A Tuesday, April 28, town hall begins at 6:30 p.m. at Pasadena High School, 2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. It will include a presentation from the consulting firm leading the consolidation process followed by a moderated question-and-answer session based on pre-submitted questions.
There will also be a one-hour listening session where the public can provide public comment.
Those who cannot attend can submit comment via email to publiccomment@pusd.us and can watch a live stream at pusd.us/townhall.
For more information, visit pusd.us/scac.