Thursday, December 11, 2025

Pasadena Board of Education to Consider School Size Standards, Potentially Setting Stage for Campus Closures

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday will consider enrollment standards that would be used to identify schools for potential closure or consolidation as the District grapples with declining enrollment.

Resolution 2852, scheduled for approval at the Board’s regular meeting, establishes minimum, optimal and maximum enrollment thresholds for schools at each grade level. Elementary schools would have a minimum of 300 students and a maximum of 750, middle schools a minimum of 400 and maximum of 900, and high schools a minimum of 900 and maximum of 1,800. Schools that fall below the minimums for two consecutive years beginning with the current 2024-25 school year would be flagged for review.

The District’s total enrollment stands at approximately 13,219 students, according to the resolution.

Under the proposed policy, the superintendent would be required to present a draft District Transformation Plan to the Board by February 2026. Any recommendations for school closures or reconfigurations, along with required equity impact analyses, would be due by October 2026.

The resolution would also authorize the superintendent to hire outside consultants to conduct enrollment projections, facilities analysis and scenario modeling.

The Board frames the policy around three priorities: equitable access to educational opportunities, instructional quality and fiscal sustainability. The resolution states that some schools are “operating far below recommended thresholds,” which impacts the District’s ability to provide equitable programming across sites.

The optimal enrollment ranges established by the resolution are 450-650 for elementary schools, 600-800 for middle schools, and 1,000-1,600 for high schools. K-8 or 6-12 configuration schools would have a minimum of 700 students, an optimal range of 800-1,200, and a maximum of 1,400.

If approved, the Board would receive annual updates on school size alignment, including projected enrollment and equity indicators.

Also Thursday, the Board is scheduled to consider its First Interim Report for the 2025-26 school year, which includes a Fiscal Stabilization Plan, and Resolution 2853 commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire.