Jennifer Hall Lee (Photo courtesy of author)
Over the last ten days we have watched attempts to break the cohesion of the Pasadena Unified School District board of trustees.
By Jennifer Hall Lee
The PUSD is under the leadership of seven democratically elected school board members, or trustees, and one superintendent. The school board governs the district and creates policy. The superintendent manages the district and implements policy. Among school board trustees, trust is necessary.
School boards can be high functioning or low functioning. The trustees on a high functioning school board act together as a full board (we can vote differently, of course) and when decisions are made the board trustees accept that decision and move forward. High functioning school boards serve children best. There is a correlation between high student achievement in a school district and high functioning school boards.
Boards can be broken through partisan politics or, sometimes, not advisedly, board members may decide to “go it alone.” These are alarming tactics because a fractured school board is low functioning and inhibits student achievement.
On the recent important issue of vaccines and testing in the PUSD, here are facts.
Only the Governor of California has authority over the PUSD School Board, and on August 11, Governor Newsom announced. “California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today issued a new public health order requiring all school staff to either show proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week.” He is requiring proof of vaccination or, for the unvaccinated, to be tested at least once per week.
The Governor’s plan on testing is less robust than the plan the PUSD is already acting upon: PUSD has a stronger testing plan for students.
- Because of our strong relationship with the City of Pasadena Department of Public Health and Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, PUSD was among the first districts in our area to offer vaccinations to all teachers, staff, students and family members.
- 96% of PUSD staff and teachers are already vaccinated: 1,320 through PUSD-run clinics, and another 800 through appointments at clinics at Huntington Hospital through a partnership with Pasadena Public Health.
- On August 5, the PUSD School Board had affirmed the goals of the Superintendent, Dr. Brian McDonald, Ed. D.: attestation of vaccines among staff and mandatory testing of all staff and teachers.
- On August 18, the Superintendent issued a communication detailing testing in our schools.
- This is the PUSD covid safety plan.
School Boards are essential to public schools and high functioning school boards are imperative for student achievement. Holding together with mutual trust in times of stress is paramount for our future.
Jennifer Hall Lee is a PUSD trustee.
Keep up your cohesively good work for the students and each other. Thank you!
I respectfully disagree. A cohesive board can still make bad decisions, even with positive intent. For example, a high functioning school board can block accurate teaching of history in order to marginalize people of color, impede educational access for English Language Learners, and add dangers and impediments for LGBTQ students and staff. Those things happen at cohesive, high-functioning school boards. No one wants any of those things in PUSD, and I am appreciative of our hard-working board and the unity of commitment to the care of all of our students. That’s the one thing that we all need to agree upon and we all do – cohesion and high-functioning are NOT the goal. Regardless of the intent of this piece, which I believe to be positive, the effect of its alarmism is to quell debate and mute dissension. The School Board is an open, public governing body accountable to the community, and we need to hear it all – not just the results of the debate, but the messy, emotional, tumultuous and often partisan conversation that got to that result. We can handle it, and so can our dedicated board members, whether as a cohesive group or going it alone. If our students are eating this sausage, then we need to see it being made (my apologies to the vegetarians).
This Article was mentioned on brid.gy