Residents at joint City Council and PUSD Board meeting on Monday, March 4, 2019 (Photo – Garrett Rowlan)
The marriage between the city of Pasadena and the Pasadena Unified School District, a matrimony occasioned by the passage of Measure J last year, brought a huge crowd to the City Council chambers Monday night.
By Garrett Rowlan
The passage of the measure earmarked funds for Pasadena Unified, but like a former suitor who shows up with documents at the wedding, the question remains just what is Pasadena Unified, and does it include charter schools.
The question is a critical one, for after ten million in budget reductions in 2018, PUSD’s outlook is still less than rosy. Enrollment continues to decline. 570 students went off the books last year, and another 300 are feared for the 2020/2021 school year.
Thrown into the mix is the County of Los Angeles, which stipulates that the District maintains a three percent in reserves, which is a concern as those reserves, like its attendance, is on a downward trend, declining in three years from seven to a projected 3.1 percent in 2021, perilously close to the minimum required.
A hidden Band-aid?
The reserves are important, but the sentiment of one speaker from the public got roars of approval from the crowd, when he stated he voted for the measure to improve academics, not to be stuck in some budgetary hole like a hidden Band-aid.
And, charter schools aside, what about PUSD proper—that is, those schools within the traditional domain of the district? What about librarians, nurses, and as former PUSD Board and current Councilmember Tyron Hampton said, what about upkeep? What about “curb appeal,” which is, how to attract students to the District when the weeds surrounding some facilities are an eyesore to potential candidates and their children?
What about the unused property that PUSD, the biggest landowner in the city, possesses? Can that be sold to improve the financial situation? However, the disposal of said property is subject, like many of PUSD’s assets, to “bizarre restrictions,” as Mayor Terry Tornek said.
“Charter schools are public schools,” the signs said, though on the podium Mayor Tornek, looking rather glum, called the situation ironic, inasmuch as the money was needed in part because charter schools siphoned students and ADA money from the district, which occasioned Measure J in the first place.
In a few weeks, the City of Pasadena expects, or hopes, to have a clearer idea of what to do with the money.
The City unveiled a commemorative logo at the March 4 Council meeting designed by Sonia P. Rodriguez (Photo – Mike Pashistoran).
At the beginning of the meeting, Councilmember Margaret McAustin, joined by a committee comprised of city representatives, unveiled a commemorative logo designed by Sonia P. Rodriguez. The logo paid homage to the women’s suffrage movement, commemorating the 19th Amendment’s passing and its impact on our nation. In a comment after the unveiling, Mayor Tornek congratulated the committee and added, “We like to make sure that women are equally represented in every aspect of city government.”
> Watch the entire joint City Council and PUSD Board meeting on Monday, March 4, 2019.
[This article has been updated for clarification, March 5, 2019, 2:00 p.m.]
Stop the vouchers that give taxpayer $ to private schools, gutting the funds for public education (which is exactly what the thugs wanted). And quit playing games with children’s futures.