GUEST OPINION
Mars rover demonstration with Principal Veronica Villagrana and Mary W. Jackson Magnet Elementary students (File Photo – PUSD)
Why is an attorney from Huntington Beach writing articles against Pasadena Unified School District Ballot Measures R and EE?
By Diane Orona
Measure R is the facilities bond that can only fund facilities work, while Measure EE is a parcel tax, the proceeds of which can be used for any general fund purpose. Measures R and EE were put on the November ballot by the Pasadena Unified School District. Now, a shadowy group has begun running ads against both measures.
The group has begun using rhetoric about the district’s test scores and other arguments to campaign against the measures. What is not being revealed is who is behind this opposition campaign. With the recent publication of an opinion piece against the measures, authored by an attorney living in Huntington Beach, it is now clear who is behind this.
Why is a lawyer from Huntington Beach attacking the Pasadena Unified School District and the academic achievement of its children? Because he is the lawyer of a longtime local operative, known to many as the Darth Vader of the local political scene, or “He Who Must Not Be Named.”
The Darth Vader of Pasadena
A private school parent, he has a long history of political stunts and support for anti-PUSD local politicians. When the former mayor of Pasadena, who was pro-PUSD, didn’t want to look into the marijuana permit issue for one of Vader’s clients, he turned on him and encouraged our current, private school parent mayor, who has long been critical of PUSD, to run, and helped his campaign. In opposing PUSD’s 2010 parcel tax campaign, he sent out a mailer with a photo of a fish on a plate, saying something was fishy in PUSD. When locals were upset with a previous PUSD superintendent, he orchestrated a smear campaign to accuse that superintendent of plagiarism.
Blaming the “district” but not themselves
In his opinion piece, the operative’s lawyer compares Pasadena Unified’s scores with those Burbank Unified, even though the latest data shows that Burbank Unified has 31.9% of its students on free and reduced lunch, while PUSD has 66.9%.
PUSD receives significant Title 1 funding for the education of low income students, while Burbank does not. The state of California also recognizes the challenges to education that accompany poverty, and provides more state funding for districts like PUSD with a large percentage of students that come from families that have greater economic challenges. These facts explain much of the funding difference between the two districts mentioned in the opinion piece.
PUSD also has a high number of special education students and foster youth placed in group homes and licensed children’s institutions located in the district. And Burbank definitely does not have the high number of private schools and charter schools that Pasadena has. Clearly, Burbank and Pasadena schools are not comparable in many ways.
But these folks believe PUSD should accomplish the impossible and erase the so-called achievement gap. Further, they support those who reside in PUSD but who get permits to attend neighboring districts, or who enroll in charters or private schools, in search of higher test scores or higher academic success and/or certain program options. They refuse to accept what has long been known, that the reason for PUSD’s low scores and lack of certain program options is that large proportions of wealthier, higher-scoring families fled to neighboring districts, charters, and private schools. And most of this flight occurred several decades ago.
Don’t let them increase segregation in PUSD
Don’t fall for their actions. If Measure R fails, the most integrated schools away from northwest Pasadena will likely not get modernized, as the board has devoted much of the current bond program to schools in the northwest. This will likely result in more segregation in PUSD, less PUSD enrollment, and the closure of PUSD’s more integrated schools. Don’t let them do it. Vote YES on Pasadena Unified School District Ballot Measures R and EE.
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