Saturday, September 5, 2026

Pasadena Unified Says No Longfellow Elementary Tree Removal “Currently Happening,” Takes Fresh Look at Situation

Pasadena Unified School District told the Longfellow Magnet School community in an email Friday that no tree removal was “currently happening,” and that it is taking a fresh look at the available arborist, environmental and remediation information before making any further decisions about the “protected trees” on the campus.

The message came four days after the district told the same community that several large, mature trees on Longfellow’s front lawn would need to be removed so contaminated soil beneath and around them could be fully remediated.

The announcement drew swift community pushback.

About a dozen parents, neighbors and tree advocates gathered outside the closed campus on Washington Boulevard the following morning, Sept. 1, disputing the district’s account of the preservation efforts it said had failed.

A second demonstration was called for that Wednesday, continuing what reporters described as a months-long standoff between the district and tree advocates over the fire-recovery cleanup effort.

The opposition was led largely by Friends of PUSD Trees, an advocacy coalition that has tracked the district’s tree removals across 11 campuses since the spring.

The group disputed PUSD’s official explanation — that “air-knifing” excavation to a depth of six inches to a foot had still shown elevated lead levels in the trees’ root zones — and maintained a running public tally showing 106 trees destroyed districtwide as of Sept. 3, at an estimated project cost of $6.6 million.

Parents also raised concerns directly at a PUSD Board of Education special meeting Sept. 3, where three Longfellow parents spoke out against the removal decision.

The pressure appeared to have an effect: five days after the initial announcement, PUSD reversed course on Sept. 4, saying it would not proceed with the Longfellow removals for now.

The district said it planned to take “a fresh look at the available arborist, environmental, and remediation information before making any further decisions,” a statement that came after sustained protests, a formal board meeting airing parent objections, and continuing scrutiny of the district’s handling of the broader tree-removal program tied to Eaton Fire soil cleanup.

On Friday, the district said the board “has been clear that every reasonable preservation option should be exhausted first,” and that it has and will continue to follow that direction. It said student health and safety remain its highest priority, but that removal of mature and protected trees is an absolute last resort.

“We understand the concern these trees have generated,” the district said. It said it will provide more details and an updated assessment before any additional removal work proceeds.

Longfellow Magnet School is one of 11 Pasadena Unified properties where the district has been removing and replacing soil it says contains fire-related contaminants left by the January 2025 Eaton Fire.