On Monday, May 11, the Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee will be holding its seventh and final meeting, where it is scheduled to vote on sending school merger recommendations to the Board of Education.
That body has the final say on enacting any potential consolidations. How PUSD manages its school sites and bond dollars have been two areas of discussion around the ongoing merger talks.
Monday’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the district headquarters, 351 S. Hudson Ave.
The process, kicked off by a Board of Education vote in January has faced strong criticism and backlash from parents, teachers and students.
They’ve taken issue with the execution of that process, led by a third-party consultant and defended individual schools, citing unique learning environments and longstanding community hubs that make those sites unique.
The consultant has suggested that there could be benefits to certain mergers of schools, both financially for the district as a whole but also academically for the students the district serves.
Consolidation is one piece of an ongoing effort to pull PUSD out a financial tailspin. Declining enrollment, deficit spending, rising costs, the expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief dollars and uncertainty of state and federal funding have left the district in about a $30 million hole.
Amid the process, questions over how consolidation would impact the district’s assets have echoed through meetings on the topic.
Here’s a guide on some things to know about the district’s asset management ahead of Monday evening:
Q: What school sites are currently being considered to close or lose students?
The Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee will be voting on the following scenarios:
- 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 9th-12th grade with Pasadena High School and Marshall 6th-8th grade stays at Marshall
- Merge Blair 9th-12th with Pasadena High School and Blair 6th-8th with Marshall Middle School OR
- Merge Blair 9th-12th with Muir High School and Blair 6th-8th with Octavia E. Butler Middle School OR
- Merge Blair 9th-12th with Muir High School and Blair 6th-8th with Marshall Middle School
Q: What has PUSD done with schools that have been closed in previous consolidation processes?
District officials have pointed to the former Roosevelt and Linda Vista elementary school sites as examples of how it plans to reuse and repurpose vacant schools. The Roosevelt site is being developed into workforce housing and requests for proposals to develop Linda Vista were issued this year. The plan is to retain a public park on the site.
In addition, PUSD said it uses closed school sites for district schools and programs, leases and temporary relocation sites for schools undergoing campus renovation.
“PUSD’s Asset Management Plan (AMP), launched in 2024, optimizes the use of district properties to generate revenue that supports students and schools while prioritizing school functions and community needs,” the district said in a statement.
Q: Do we know what would happen to the schools being proposed for consolidation?
In most of the scenarios, the school being merged into another school currently provides another use for the district. McKinley School is the only school included in the TK-8th grade scenarios that is being proposed to be closed completely.
In the secondary school scenarios, three options involving Blair include all high school students going to Pasadena High School or John Muir High School and all middle school students going to either Marshall or Octavia E. Butler Magnet.
Per state guidance around school consolidations, any school closure recommendation to consider a plan for a site post-closure to avoid blight.
“The District is evaluating all closed and underutilized properties as part of its long-term asset management planning,” the district said in a statement. “This includes reviewing maintenance costs, safety concerns, potential blight, lease revenue, joint use opportunities, and whether any property should be repurposed.”
Q: How do potential consolidation scenarios impact PUSD bond measures?
According to the district, any impacts would depend on which sites, if any, are recommended for consolidation and how the district decides to use those properties.
For each closure scenario presented by consulting firm Total School Solutions, an estimated bond savings were included. In 2023, the district adopted a five-year bond program for how to spend Measure O dollars. The $516 million bond measure was approved by voters in 2020.
In 2024, voters approved Measure EE, a general obligation bond, and Measure R, a parcel tax.
Q: Could PUSD sell closed schools to help address its ongoing financial crisis? How much money could be made and would it be worth it?
Any sale of property would generate one-time revenue that can only be used for buildings including capital outlay or maintenance of school district property and would not be able to bolster PUSD’s general fund. District officials would not provide an estimate of what the sale of a school site would generate.
“The District also has to consider ongoing expenditures, long-term educational needs, and ongoing revenue from leases, which may better serve students and the District over time,” the district said in a statement.