Pasadena Unified Considering Closing More Schools: Report

PASADENA, CA -- On Thursday, Sept. 19, Pasadena Unified School District staff will give recommendations to the district's board of education re: possible closures of schools due to budget cuts, according to a recent report in the Pasadena Star-News.

The recommendations will be unveiled during a scheduled public school board meeting.

If approved, closures would start with the 2020-21 school year, the report states. Last fall, the district decided to close Cleveland Elementary under a round of $10.1 million in budget cuts mandated by Los Angeles County.

“Our schools face an ongoing challenge,” officials said in a statement released Aug. 21. "With 27 campuses for 16,000 students, our resources are spread thin."

Cleveland Elementary was officially closed with the current school year and it's about 100 students were transferred within the district, for an estimated $258,473 to $354,667 in annual savings. Pasadena Unified also managed to reduce other costs via changes to staffing, bus service, program cuts and other strategies.

The school district says that lower birth rates and rising housing costs have contributed to decreased enrollment, and that this affects the amount of funds received from state and federal governments.