Pasadena Unified’s budget crisis may lead to as many as five school closures — and local residents aren’t happy about it.

Holding up yellow sheets of paper that said, “YOU FAILED US,” Pasadena residents flooded PUSD’s school board meeting last week to voice their concerns about a report that recommended the district close schools in the 2019-20 school year to save money.

School board members noted the report, which the district’s School Consolidation and Boundary Committee finalized Jan. 24, is merely a recommendation. The school board itself would have to vote on the issue for any schools to close, a step that has not been taken.

The report gives five recommendations for closure and consolidation into other schools. It notes that “any one of the recommendations can be taken a-la-cart, or all them can be taken together.” The schools included are:

Wilson Middle School, 300 Madre St., Pasadena

Blair High School, 1135 S. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, either completely or just grades 9-12

Jefferson Elementary, 1500 E. Villa St., Pasadena

Cleveland Elementary, 524 Palisade St., Pasadena

Franklin Elementary, 527 Ventura St., Altadena

The district has already identified $14.3 million in possible cuts for the 2018-19 school year. The Los Angeles County Office of Education is keeping an eye on the district’s finances to ensure its solvency.

The School Consolidation and Boundary Committee’s report notes two schools’ closures — Wilson Middle and Jefferson Elementary — are the only options that won unanimous support from the committee’s 11 members. It also ranked criteria used to make decisions about possible consolidations.

“Programmatic implications” was the top priority, while maximizing students’ proximity to their school and promoting socioeconomic diversity tied for second-highest priority. The report notes the committee did not consider the number of students impacted.

“We’re a ways from making a decision,” Pasadena Unified spokeswoman Hilda Ramirez Horvath said by phone adding, “there will be opportunities for any stakeholders to voice their concerns along the way.”

Parents and teachers got a head start on Thursday, speaking out about what a potential closure or layoffs could mean for specific schools.

Esperanza Martinez, a parent at Jefferson Elementary, said closing the school would have a huge impact on the families.

The plan is “something that really concerns us, because you have many families that attend Jefferson Elementary because of its thriving dual language immersion program,” she said. “And a lot of families walk to school. It’s their neighborhood school.”

Gretchen Elm, a teacher at Franklin Elementary, said she worried what it would mean for her students if the school closed.

“We are working really hard, and for us to be potentially put on this list due to economics does those families a huge disservice,” she said.

Jocelyn Selter, a teacher at McKinley School, said she didn’t understand how the district got to this point.

“The simple fact is that I’m angry,” she said. “I’m angry on behalf of the teachers who are here. I’m angry on their behalf because we put so much time and effort into our students.”

School board members sought to reassure residents. They reiterated that no decisions about closures have been made.

“There seems to be some confusion in the general public,” board member Patrick Cahalan said. “Our acceptance of that report is not necessarily an indication that we are going to take the actions that are recommended in that report. So I just want to make sure everyone is clear on that.”

Board member Kim Kenne said the board has not even discussed the report yet.

“There haven’t been any other board conversations (about the report) unless two people met on street,” she said. “It has not come to the full board. It has not come to an official board meeting.”

Superintendent Brian McDonald said the board will have a special meeting dedicated to discussing the report, where residents can express concerns. He said he hoped people would work with the district throughout the process.

“I would just urge everyone to, you know, be patient,” he said. “We will have open, honest, transparent — as transparent as possible — conversation around whether or not we close or consolidate schools.”