Pasadena Unified To Close 3 Schools Despite Objections

PASADENA, CA — Over the impassioned pleas of parents and students, the Pasadena Unified school board narrowly voted to close three elementary schools. The 4-3 decision reflected a sharply divided district where officials who worked most closely on the issue warned that the path chosen could result in future school closures.

Ultimately, the Board of Education weighed five options and decided late Thursday night to close Franklin, Jefferson and Roosevelt elementary schools. As soon as the next school year, families from those three schools will be urged to attend nearby schools. Critics of the decision warned that it would have the counterproductive effect of exacerbating the district's budget woes. They advocated an alternative that would have led to fewer closures.

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 Pasadena Star-News reported.

Because the district is not able to force students to attend these schools, families affected by the closures will have first pick of schools around the district to enroll their children in ahead of other families seeking to enroll outside their attendance boundaries. Board members Kimberly Kenne, Patrick Cahalan and Michelle Bailey all voted against the resolution, the Star-News reported. all three board members made up the subcommittee that worked on closures as a way to save money.

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

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, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

School district officials believe they could save money on overhead by combining programs and doubling up on staff. Many blamed the dilemma on declining enrollment with 1,200 fewer students attending now than seven years ago.

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. 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.

Read the full the Pasadena Star-News story here.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.