LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Marshall PTSA hosted a town hall on Tues., March 24, 2026 (Photo – Felita Kealing)
Last December, the PUSD School Board passed Resolution 2852, “Establishing Optimal School Size by Grade Level for Pasadena Unified School District,” which, in part, directed the Superintendent to “monitor schools that fall below” a certain enrollment threshold and would lead to a “District Transformation Plan.” Instead, this resolution has now evolved into a vehicle for certain Board Trustees to target any PUSD school for potential closure, regardless of size.
By Warren Bleeker
Those targets now include the school with the District’s largest enrollment, which is near capacity and boasts a 96% graduation rate: Thurgood Marshall Secondary School.
The Marshall PTSA hosted a town hall last night to discuss the District’s consolidation process. Trustee Scott Harden attended the town hall. Below is the letter I sent this morning to the PUSD Board condemning Mr. Harden’s actions last night.
I’m the Marshall PTSA President and we hosted a Town Hall last night at Marshall to discuss school consolidation. Overall, it was a very positive experience.
Marshall does not want to see any schools closed. We encouraged our students and families to tell their stories at upcoming Board Meetings and to always stay positive. We made signs, we ate pizza, and we came together as a community to support Marshall and all PUSD schools.
One of the most heartbreaking moments was hearing from a Marshall middle school student who was hit very hard when Franklin was closed and she had to change schools, then COVID hit and she was not able to attend in person, finally she came to Marshall, in person, and is thriving. However, her apartment was destroyed in the Eaton Fire and she moved an hour away. They live in another District but she still comes to Marshall because it is her home. This student teared up and couldn’t continue speaking when she started discussing how closing Marshall would only lead to more trauma for her–her mother then finished telling her story, and many of us wept. It was heartbreaking.
Following those comments, a bit later in the meeting, Trustee Harden, who was in attendance, attempted to explain his theories on why school closures, and specifically closing Marshall, is necessary. He mentioned that PHS has 1000+ capacity. He then said, “excuse my French” and went on to explain that school closure is necessary to stop the “ensh*ttification” of the District (his words). This was in front of elementary-age students in attendance.
While hard to follow, I believe his point was that current PUSD policies are “ensh*ttifying” the District leading to PHS having excess capacity, and that we need to close schools including Marshall to stop this “ensh*ttifciation.” Scott also admitted, however, that “closing schools won’t actually save money. It’ll cost money.” In talking about the pain that school closure would bring to Marshall, Scott referred to it as “what you’re going to go through” suggesting that closing Marshall is inevitable. While Scott mentioned that he was only speaking on his own behalf, and not on behalf of the Board, his overall message to Marshall’s students and families was that Marshall is making the District “sh*tty” and the District will close Marshall to stop the “ensh*ttification.” As I write these words, I am still in shock that an elected official said them to a room full of concerned parents and students including their younger siblings.
These comments angered us. We feel betrayed. As context, Scott sent private text messages to us in December, when we expressed concern about the Board Resolution on school size, and he told us the school size “formula is bonkers” and “[t]he numbers are ass but by this Marshall is fine.” Yet a few months later, Scott came to our town hall to lecture us on why Marshall is not “fine” and instead our school needs to be closed because we’re making PUSD and PHS “sh*tty.”
We obviously strongly disagree with Scott and are beyond angry with him. Marshall, and all PUSD schools make PUSD stronger.
The 2019 version of Scott Harden fighting with all his might to save schools, would not recognize the 2026 version of Scott Harden attempting to close schools and blaming those schools for “sh*ttifying” the District. We don’t believe Scott’s comments were appropriate coming from anyone, let alone a School Board Trustee. This entire closure process is traumatic in and of itself, and Scott coming to our Town Hall to throw salt in our wounds is not acceptable.
Thank you,
Warren Bleeker
Marshall PTSA President
I have 2 kids at PHS. They love it and are thriving however PHS is not for everyone. Schools are not one size fits all. I have many dear friends whose kids are thriving at Marshall. Marshall is an excellent school with a proven track record of success. If closing schools will indeed cost the district money …not save it …the option should not even be on the table. Perhaps there is ‘fat’ to cut at the top…. Sounds to me the ‘focus’ is on lack and drastic actions, closing schools… instead of vision and using a scalpel to the budget not an ax.
Amen sister – preach it!!!
Doesn’t he have a connection to Blair ? Is he trying to close Marshall to save Blair ? His kids go to Blair? Seems like a conflict of interest. Is the assumption that Marshall students will automatically go to PHS? That is a very poor assumption. The goal should be student retention this will push more to go Private..
His kid goes to Marshall and people are being awful to him.
People are being awful to him?!? In 2019 he fought closures – told the board they needed to protect kids and not close schools. I want that guy to appear instead of this wishy-washy “ensh*ttify” guy of 2026. Now that he’s responsible, he’s saying “those kids will just get over it”. THOSE kids deserve a better board member!