Friday, February 13, 2026

PUSD Board Reaches Consensus on Four Goals for School Consolidation Committee

Trustees split on key factors as advisory panel prepares to evaluate possible campus closures in Pasadena and Altadena; formal approval decision set for February 26

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education reached consensus Thursday night on four desired outcomes to guide an advisory committee that could recommend school closures across Pasadena and Altadena. The board failed to agree on all the items raised, however, in a special meeting that lasted late into the night.

The outcomes, which will be brought back for formal approval at the board’s February 26 regular meeting, will frame the work of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee. The committee holds its first of seven scheduled meetings on February 23 and will evaluate whether to close schools in a district that has seen enrollment decline for years and approved $24.5 million in budget cuts last fall. The board is scheduled to vote on any consolidation recommendations on June 25, with closures taking effect for the 2027-2028 school year.

The four outcomes that gained consensus call for fiscal responsibility, continuity of student achievement, a comprehensive review of programs and services, and meaningful community engagement throughout the process.

Three other proposed outcomes — equitable access to educational programs, development of a long-term transformation plan, and a forward-looking focus on the district’s future — did not receive majority support, though the facilitator’s handling of the tallies drew some confusion during the meeting.

The board also reached consensus on two factors the committee must consider: geographic distribution of schools and enrollment data.

Additional factors, including specific enrollment ranges that would have set minimum student thresholds for school viability, generated disagreement among trustees and did not advance during Thursday discussions.

The meeting opened with a training session on parliamentary procedure led by Dr. Marisol Avalos, who served as parliamentarian. Because the item was agendized as a discussion item rather than an action item, the board could not take formal votes on the outcomes without risking a Brown Act violation. Trustees instead used a consensus process — with members indicating support through a show of hands or thumbs up — to signal which outcomes and factors should be brought forward for formal approval at a future meeting.

Trustees voted 5-2 in January to approve a contract not to exceed $233,300 with Total School Solutions, a consulting firm, to guide the consolidation study. That same month, the board adopted Resolution 2857, which established nine equity metrics the committee must use in its analysis, as required by Assembly Bill 1912 and Education Code section 41329. The nine metrics include facility conditions, operating costs and savings, school capacity, special programs, environmental factors, demographic balance, transportation needs, aesthetics and potential blight impact, and feeder school attendance patterns, according to district presentation materials.

The special meeting last night came less than a week after more than 300 PUSD teachers, staff, students and parents rallied at Pasadena City Hall on February 7 against the $24.5 million in cuts to school-based services that the board approved in November. The cuts apply to the 2026-2027 fiscal year and are part of a broader effort to address a financial crisis driven by declining enrollment, deficit spending, the expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief funds, rising costs and uncertainty in state and federal funding.

During public comment Thursday, speakers included fire-displaced families concerned about the impact of potential closures on their children, parents from Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, and PTA Council representatives who questioned the $233,300 consultant expenditure, according to the meeting.

PUSD, which serves approximately 15,000 students across Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre, has closed 11 schools since 1989 due to declining enrollment. The most recent closures, in 2019, led to a lawsuit alleging discrimination against Latino students. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled on January 30 that the district did not discriminate in those closures, according to K-12 Dive.

In addition to the committee’s seven meetings, the district plans to conduct a community survey, hold two town hall meetings and provide updates at regular Board of Education meetings.

The board is expected to take formal action on the desired outcomes at its February 26 meeting. The advisory committee’s recommendations are due in May, and if the board approves closures at its June 25 meeting, affected schools would not shut down until the 2027-2028 school year.