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PUSD Board Indefinitely Postpones Talk of School Closures
News Mar 20, 2018
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Dozens of concerned parents and students attended the latest PUSD board meeting out of fear that their schools might be shut down. – Courtesy photo / Screenshot KLRN
School district will explore ways to generate additional revenue through its properties
By Gus Herrera
Last week, the Pasadena Unified School District’s (PUSD) Board of Education chose to indefinitely postpone talks regarding possible school closures and consolidations.
The decision to table the discussion came as a relief to dozens of anxious parents and students who got wind of the superintendent school consolidation and boundary committee’s (SSCBC) recommendation to consolidate the following five PUSD sites: Cleveland Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Wilson Middle School, and Blair High School.
Although the SSCBC’s recommendations were purely suggestions, it’s easy to understand how the news whipped up a frenzy within the PUSD community – especially given the district’s financial crisis and resulting multi-million-dollar flurry of cuts.
When several community representatives packed the PUSD board’s latest meeting – including a coalition of students, parents, and faculty from Blair HS – Nelson Cayabyab, chief facilities officer, wasted no time in clarifying the situation, “let us be perfectly clear that this is the first time … these options are presented to the board. No decision [has been] made yet … as far as school closures or moving programs.”
As discussions proceeded and the committee’s recommendations were presented to the board, it quickly became apparent that there was no appetite to close or consolidate any schools.
Board Member Patrick Cahalan reminded his colleagues that consolidations have historically led to decreased enrollment, “if you look at the enrollment graph over time, you can spot exactly the years after which we had school consolidations, because instead of losing 100 or 200 kids, we lost 1,000.”
Board Member Patrick Cahalan warned his colleagues that consolidating schools has historically led to a decrease in enrollment, a phenomenon which would nullify any potential savings. – Courtesy photo / Screenshot KLRN
Cahalan pointed out that if enrollment falls, then efforts to save money will be nullified, seeing as the district will subsequently lose funding that corresponds to average daily attendance (ADA): “a significant amount of money that comes with each ADA winds up going to the neediest populations, particularly special education. So, if we lose 100 kids, we don’t just lose the money that we would need to provide those 100 kids with teachers, we lose tens of thousands of dollars that goes to fund our special education department.”
One SSCBC member also reminded the board that closures present opportunity for charter and private schools to jump in and pry away potential students, a phenomenon which has recently played out in Altadena.
“Out of seven school closures in the past, five of them have been in Altadena … [resulting] in four charter schools and one private school,” said the committee member, “Altadena has families moving in … [but] charter schools are getting all those families … we need to hold strong with the remaining schools.”
In the end, Superintendent Brian McDonald recommended tabling the matter until the district formulates a “proper asset management plan.”
Superintendent Brian McDonald suggested that the school district should first examine ways to create additional revenue through its properties, before considering closures/consolidations. – Courtesy photo / Screenshot KLRN
McDonald argued that the district should firstly examine how to generate additional revenue from its properties, before considering closures/consolidations. The superintendent pointed out that the City of Glendale has engaged in “property swaps,” where their school district traded under-utilized facilities for revenue-generating properties such as apartments or store fronts.
Eva Lueck, interim chief business officer, supported McDonald’s suggestion, “I believe Pasadena has some wonderful opportunities … it has become more common, in just recent years, to do property exchanges … we’re going to be exploring some options in the near future.”
Near the conclusion of the meeting, Board Member Michelle Richardson Bailey apologized to the audience for any miscommunication – an act which was met with applause: “I want to apologize to the community and to the committee … to everyone who got wind of this out of order. I don’t know where it went wrong. I’m just hoping that we work on having a better process in place … ”
Board Member Michelle Richardson Bailey apologized to the PUSD community for the miscommunication, an act which was met with applause. – Courtesy photo / Screenshot KLRN
Superintendent McDonald quickly jumped in and acknowledged his role in the misunderstanding, “I take full responsibility for … how this was rolled out,” he said, “maybe the sequence was not quite what it should be. I’m not really sure how this report was leaked but, be that as it may … I certainly apologize for how all of this occurred.”
One day after the board meeting, on March 16, Superintendent McDonald penned a message to the PUSD community in which he clarified the circumstances. McDonald also revealed that the district’s recently-approved second interim financial report has officially upgraded the PUSD’s “fiscal certification from negative to qualified,” meaning that “oversight by the Los Angeles County Office of Education will end once the county affirms [the] qualified certification.”
“We have made great progress in addressing our budget shortfall, but there is more work ahead,” wrote McDonald, “statewide, large increases in pension and healthcare costs are expected to continue, special education remains underfunded despite federal mandates, and state funding is expected to remain flat. If nothing changes in the way we are funded, by 2019-20, our district is projected to make further reductions of approximately $8 million in 2019-20. Additional reductions will also need to be made to maintain solvency in 2020-21 and our district’s 2018-19 budget adoption this June will include those discussions.”
The PUSD board will meet again on March 29 at 6 p.m.
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