Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Guest Opinion | Liliana Coronado: The Future of PUSD Requires a Shared Vision

As a member of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee and a parent in Pasadena Unified, I have spent the past several months reviewing data and participating in conversations about school closures. What has become clear is that we are being asked to make high-stakes decisions based on large volumes of raw information, much of it only recently analyzed, and on a compressed timeline. What we need instead is a true visioning process.

A visioning process brings together students, families, educators, and community members to define what we want for our schools and our children over the long term. It asks: What should a PUSD graduate know and be able to do? What kinds of schools do we want in our neighborhoods? How do we align resources to those goals? Districts like San Francisco and Long Beach have taken this approach—engaging their communities over time to build shared visions that then guide difficult decisions, which sometimes includes consolidation. Vision comes first. Decisions follow.

Pasadena Unified has already closed 11 schools, with more now under consideration. This approach—closing schools one by one without a clear long-term plan—is not sustainable, and it is not what our community deserves. It also pits schools–and school communities–against each other.

This matters even more given the moment our community is in. Families are navigating the aftermath of the Eaton Canyon fires, ongoing immigration enforcement, and economic strain. Asking them to weigh in on school closures in a rushed process risks leaving out those most affected. If we want decisions that are thoughtful, equitable, and lasting, we must slow down and do this right. Pasadena Unified does not just need a closure plan—it needs a vision.

Liliana Coronado is a PUSD Parent