In the midst of strong public backlash, the Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee voted Monday, May 11, on what, if any, school closure scenarios to recommend to the Board of Education for consideration.
The results of that vote are set to be released on Tuesday, the culmination of a months-long process in the face of parents and other district stakeholders critical of the consolidation process, and fiercely defending their campuses from closure.
Committee members voted at the conclusion of the committee’s seventh and final meeting, after beginning the process back in February.
The scenarios under consideration included:
- Merge Don Benito Elementary School to Willard Elementary School;
- Merge Webster Elementary School to Longfellow Elementary School and Norma Coombs Elementary School or Merge Norma Coombs to Webster;
- Merge Eliot Arts Magnet and McKinley School and close McKinley (TK-5). McKinley elementary grade students would go to Hamilton, Madison or Washington;
- Merge Thurgood Marshall ninth-12th grade with Pasadena High School and Marshall sixth-eighth grade stays at Marshall;
- Merge Blair ninth-12th with Pasadena High School and Blair sixth-eighth with Marshall Middle School or;
- Merge Blair ninth-12th with Muir High School and Blair sixth-eighth with Octavia E. Butler Middle School or;
- Merge Blair ninth-12th with Muir High School and Blair sixth-eighth with Marshall Middle School.
As they have ahead of multiple meetings, protesters gathered on Del Mar Boulevard outside PUSD headquarters to protest the potential closure of schools.
The atmosphere outside and inside the meeting room was extra charged Monday night in light of a article published earlier in the day by ColoradoBoulevard.net.
The report revealed text messages and emails between trustees that indicated some trustees had been coordinating behind the scenes to set the consolidation process in motion before the contract with consulting firm Total School Solutions had been formalized.
Previously, the Board of Education had not had a public a role in the ongoing consolidation process since voting to contract with the consulting firm.
Protesters changed in call-and-response: “Did you violate the Brown Act?” “Yes you did!”
Joseph Pandolofo, executive vice president with Total School Solutions, opened Monday’s meeting by saying he could not address the report because it “deals with possible, pending litigation.”
Multiple committee members questioned whether the meeting should even go forward, specifically the ethical questions members said it raised about TSS communicating with trustees prior to entering its contract agreement.
Some said they felt “gaslit” and that the entire process “is a sham,” in light of references to parts of the process being predetermined by board members. Trustee Kimberly Kenne attended Monday’s meeting.
A large group of protesters had gathered 30 minutes before the meeting began chanting “Closures hurts kids!”
Pizza boxes and sign-making materials were placed under a E-Z up tent. Protesters from schools including Thurgood Marshall Secondary School, Blair High School and Don Benito Elementary School held several signs with messages including “Broken Trust.”
After the meeting began, a group of protesters gathered in the hallway outside the second floor meeting room. Their chants, which included, “This meeting is a sham!” could be heard inside the room.
Inside committee members pushed to have an opportunity for each member to share their thoughts on the process and where they stood before of voting. More than 20 of the 33 members took the opportunity to share.
A handful of people said they felt consolidation would be beneficial to PUSD, but the majority of other speakers criticized the process, voicing concerns that combined with concerns about trustee involvement in the process before the contract, trust had been broken with the community.
Critiques included feeling rushed into decisions, not have questions answered, confusion over the actual financial impact of closures and a lack of effective community engagement.
Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco urged the committee to use their voice and not abstain from voting despite their hesitancy.
Included with their votes was the opportunity to provide written feedback. In addition, Blanco said committee members could submit public comments that would be part of the record delivered to the board in addition to the result of the voting.
“This is the only way the board is going to get all of your feedback and I think that they have heard loud and clear about how the community feels about what happened … they are seeing that,” Blanco said of the Board of Education.
As committee members voted on Chromebooks at the end of the meeting, protesters could be heard outside the room chanting “Save our schools!”
On May 28 the Board of Education is scheduled to receive a presentation on the recommendations and a draft Equity Impact Analysis. Public comment will be available at that meeting as well as at the June 11 Board of Education meeting.
Trustees will be holding a study session on June 13 and it is scheduled to make its final decision on any potential school closures at the Thursday, June 25, meeting. The Board of Education has the final say on potential closures. Any potential mergers would take effect during the 2027-2028 school year.