A Pasadena Unified School District committee has recommended that no schools merge into others, a big victory for parents and other stakeholders who for months have decried a “consolidation” process they said would negatively impact students and neighborhoods and which itself they said was tainted.
The district announced the recommendation from the 33-person Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee around 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, in an email blast.
“They stood up and protected our community,” Thurgood Marshall Secondary School parent TJ Teems said in a text message Tuesday night. “Now we will continue to fight to save our schools before the board makes their final decision on June 25.
“Closures do not solve the financial problem,” Teems said.
The previous evening, the committee held its seventh and final meeting, which culminated in members voting on a handful of campus closure scenarios, all of which received fierce public pushback, despite the initial impetus for the mergers: to save the district money at a time of steep enrollment declines.
Those declines, coupled with a multimillion-dollar fiscal deficit, have led to major layoffs at a district already hit hard by the impact of the Eaton fire.
Spurred on by a decade of declining enrollment, the Board of Education voted in January to explore consolidation. The idea was to “right-size” the district and potentially find desperately needed cost savings amid the district’s financial crisis.
The contentious process now is in the hands of the Board of Education, which has the final say on what, if any, closures take effect.
According to the district, 29 of the 33 members voted on six potential merger scenarios with all six failing to have more yes votes than no votes. The committee is made up of teachers, staff, parents, students and community members.
Committee members voted on the following scenarios:
- Merge Don Benito Elementary School to Willard Elementary School
- Merge Norma Coombs Elementary School to Webster Elementary School
- 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 Muir High School and Blair sixth-eighth with Octavia E. Butler Middle School
They voted on Chromebooks and in addition to voting yes or no on each scenario had the option to provide written feedback that will also be provided to the Board of Education.
PUSD parent and committee member Katrina Cabrera Ortega said in a Tuesday night text message that she voted against the proposed mergers, but believes the district needs to undergo a visioning process for the future.
“I believe in PUSD with all my heart and hope collectively we can come up with other solutions to build up this amazing district,” Ortega said.
During Monday’s nearly two-hour meeting, several committee members criticized the monthslong process that led up to the vote and many hinted at voting against any mergers or simply abstaining from the vote.
The Board of Education came under extra scrutiny Monday after a published report revealed email and text messages involving some on the board who appeared to have been attempting to orchestrate the consolidation process before a formal agreement had been reached with third-party consultant Total School Solutions.
Joseph Pandolfo, executive vice president with TSS, opened Monday’s meeting by saying he could not comment on the report because it, “deals with possible, pending litigation.”
The report catalyzed the debate.
While consultants argued that mergers could strengthen academics and programs, the PUSD community doubled down on their battle to maintain the choice and specialized campuses that they said make the district unique.
Protesters gathered outside the district office Monday evening and made their way into the hallway outside the second floor room once the meeting began. Parents and students from schools in consideration for closure have been a constant presence at previous committee meetings.
On Monday, they called the process a sham.
“It doesn’t surprise me that there is not a public mandate or consensus surrounding any closures,” said Lisa Kroese, PTA Council of PUSD’s president, and a PUSD parent. “At some point, true leadership requires admitting when a process has failed, and admitting your own mistakes.”
Now, attention turns toward a board vote.
“I hope the board can withdraw the resolution, recover taxpayer funds spent on this flawed effort, and focus on fixing the facilities we have left,” Kroese said. “They should be managing the assets that are vacant or that do not house students. Families deserve honesty and lawful governance — not a process that was designed to cover up a predetermined consolidation plan.”
Trustees will be presented with the committee’s feedback and a draft Equity Impact Analysis at the Thursday, May 28, meeting. An additional public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 11. On Saturday, June 13, the trustees will hold a study session ahead of the final vote on any potential mergers scheduled for Thursday, June 25.
Blanco said Monday that while the planned process is set up to have any potential mergers taking effect for the 2027-2028 school year, the Board of Education has the discretion to alter that timeline.