The Pasadena Unified school board narrowly voted to close three elementary schools late Thursday night, even as the officials who worked most closely on the issue warned that the path chosen could result in future school closures.

After listening to the impassioned pleas from dozens of parents and students, the Board of Education weighed five options, then voted 4-3 to close Franklin, Jefferson and Roosevelt elementary schools.

Next school year, students from Franklin will be encouraged to attend Altadena Elementary; students from Jefferson will be directed toward Longfellow Elementary; and students from Roosevelt will be pointed to Madison Elementary.

The district cannot force students to attend these schools and plans to give parents the option to enroll their children in other schools around the district ahead of the general population’s applications to attend a school of choice outside attendance boundaries.

Board members Kimberly Kenne, Patrick Cahalan and Michelle Bailey — who all comprise the subcommittee that worked on closures as a way to save money — all voted against the resolution.

“We will probably be back here in two to three years, closing elementary schools again,” Kenne said prior to the vote.

She pushed for an option that would have closed Don Benito Fundamental and divided Jefferson students among three campuses, in addition to the closures that were approved Thursday.

Cahalan threw his support behind the same failed resolution, arguing it was the only plan aggressive enough to stave off future closures.

“We are giving your students worse service than we would if we had fewer school sites and less overhead costs,” he said, noting that each campus required its own support staff. By combining schools, district officials said they would be able to double-up on staff, save money and provide more programs for students.

Pasadena Unified Board of Education member, Patrick Cahalan, moments after making his case for a school consolidation plan that would ultimately be rejected by his colleagues on Sept. 26 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Bradley Bermont/SCNG)

Students and parents from Franklin Elementary made their case in front of Pasadena Unified’s Board of Education on Sept. 26 shortly before district officials would vote to close the school next year. Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Bradley Bermont/SCNG)

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Outside the Board of Education’s chambers in Pasadena Unified headquarters on Sept. 26, dozens of parents and students gathered in a jam-packed hallway, chanting: “Stop closing our schools.” Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Bradley Bermont/SCNG)

Students and parents from Roosevelt Elementary made their case in front of Pasadena Unified’s Board of Education on Sept. 26 shortly before district officials would vote to close the school next year. Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Bradley Bermont/SCNG)

During Pasadena Unified’s Board of Education meeting on Sept. 26, dozens of parents, students and even a few city officials came as district officials weighed different plans for school closures next year. Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Bradley Bermont/SCNG)



‘The easy solution’

While Bailey didn’t support the same option as Cahalan and Kenne, she still opposed the measure passed Thursday, calling it “the easy solution.”

Serving together on the subcommittee, the three had set out to eliminate 2,421 “open seats” in classrooms across the district, according to a staff presentation.

The option the board eventually selected leaves open 1,500 seats, Kenne said.

In part, that’s because it closed fewer schools than other plans. It also distributed students differently; instead of sending Jefferson students to fill seats on three campuses, it sends them to just one.

It was a simpler option, though that didn’t mean it was a simple decision even for those who supported it.

“I feel like I’m being asked which of my children I want to give up,” board member Roy Boulghourjian said before expressing support for the resolution.

The sentiment was echoed by each of the board members who all agreed: This was the toughest decision they’ve ever had to make.

Dozens of concerned students and parents didn’t make it any easier.

‘That’s not justice’

In a jammed, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, a group of children chanted in the hallway outside: “Stop closing our schools,” they said as board President Lawrence Torres tried to make his opening remarks at the start of the meeting.

Students chanting: "Stop closing our schools!" pic.twitter.com/69jAyRKCLp — Bradley Bermont (@bradleybermont) September 27, 2019

Drowning out the president’s amplified voice, they continued: “This is not OK.”

Inside the chambers, parents and students made impassioned pleas to the Board of Education during the meeting’s public comment section.

First in groups, then one by one, parents argued the board moved too quickly without enough engagement from the community.

“The proposals in front of you today only represent the discussions of three board members and staff,” Franklin parent David Chavez said. “That’s just not justice; that’s just us being kept out and disregarded.”

His concerns were echoed by Pasadena City Councilman Victor Gordo, who spoke ahead of the public comment period. He called for the board to postpone the decision and engage community members to share their reasoning behind certain decisions “with everyone in a more transparent process.”

‘Just get it over with’

Torres defended the process later in the meeting, saying it had “been an ongoing conversation at the school board for a very long time.” But, since the board first looked at more than a dozen options for closures, Torres conceded they had been moving at “lightning speed because we are trapped by a self-imposed deadline at the end of October.”

The board set that goal because the district’s open enrollment process starts in November, he said.

Still, even Cahalan joined the chorus calling for town hall style meetings, attempting an early motion that colleagues quickly shot down. Even some audience members agreed: “Just get it over with,” someone yelled from the crowd.

It didn’t matter how many meetings the board held, said Mayor Terry Tornek, who also spoke during public comment. Any decision that led to school closures “wouldn’t result in a quieter hallway or fewer upset parents.”

The specter of the Los Angeles County Office of Education hung heavy over the evening’s debates; the district only recently freed itself from the agency, which threatened a fiscal takeover if Pasadena Unified couldn’t get its finances in order.

“If we don’t close any of our schools, (the Office of Education) will be on us,” Boulghourjian said.

At the outset of this process, which started with budget conversations, the district aimed to trim $4 million with school closures. A district spokeswoman said it’s unclear how much money Thursday’s cuts will save because it depends on the schools the families decide to attend.

Searching for reasons

As the board weighed solutions, officials and members of the public alike offered a litany of explanations for the district’s situation: Declining enrollment, 1,200 fewer students now than seven years ago.

That’s five elementary schools, Torres said. But there’s only been one closure in that period.

The district has often cited declining birthrates as a chief reason for low enrollment, alongside rising housing costs and tight state education funding.

Some officials and members of the public pointed to California’s per-pupil spending, which is ranked 41st in the nation, depending on whom you ask.

If Pasadena was in Wisconsin, “we would have $30 million more,” Cahalan said. “We would have $80 million more if we were Wyoming.”

Bailey was afraid that the district’s financial situation could worsen after the closures and urged parents to continue to support their local school system.

“I’d rather not see us close any schools,” she said, calling on the district to be more proactive with campaigns aimed at getting “our kids back from charters and provide workforce housing for our families so we can repopulate our schools.”

She reassured parents: “No matter where you land, your kids are going to continue to learn. Pasadena Unified will not be able to fail you.”

For the next meeting, the board called on staff to present a detailed explanation of the upcoming open enrollment period for parents of children displaced by the closures.

Soon after that, officials will start discussing options for secondary school closures and say they’re aiming to finish the process by October’s end.