PUSD Votes to Close Two Elementary Schools

In a closely divided vote Tuesday evening, Pasadena Unified School Board members voted to close Loma Alta and Burbank elementary schools next year.

The vote capped a process of several months that included an all-volunteer committee that looked into which schools to close, and recommendations from the school's superintendent Edwin Diaz.  The conclusions, in both cases, included the closure of those two schools.

The vote revealed a sharp divide in the thinking of individual board members, with three of the seven board members voting against the closures and emphatically speaking out against them.

"I see here the marginalization of a community," board member Ramon Miramontes said. "I'm here to tell you this is not fair and equitable."

"I see here the marginalization of a community," board member Ramon Miramontes said. "I'm here to tell you this is not fair and equitable."

Throughout the entire process, three of the five schools that came under scrutiny for closure or relocation were in Altadena: Loma Alta, Burbank, and Jackson, which was also originally recommended for closure before the board decided to earlier this month.

Board members Renatta Cooper and Scott Phelps joined Miramontes in voting against the school closures, while Tom Selinske, Ed Honowitz, Elizabeth Pomeroy, and Bob Harrison voted for them.

"I feel badly about this decision... I do feel it is going to cause some turmoil," Selinske said.

But, he added, the school's budget situation made the decision the right one for him.

"I haven't heard another argument about how we are going to deal with our budget deficits," Selinske said.

Tuesday's decision means Loma Alta students will be divided between Franklin and Altadena elementary schools for their default neighborhood school.  Burbank students will be divided between Longfellow and Webster elementary schools.

The Loma Alta campus will continue to host pre-school and early childhood programs and Burbank's Mandarin Immersion Program will be moved to Field Elementary. 

The decision caps a process where the school board had initially directed Superintendent Edwin Diaz to look at closing three schools in response to a projected three-year deficit of over $30 million.

Closing the schools is projected to save $400,000 to $450,000 per year, per school.

With news last month that the district would not face as large as deficit as expected because of a reduction in state educational funding, some board members argued that keeping the schools open was possible.

But the schools also faced low attendance rates, as many elementary schools in the district are well below their top capacity.

School parents showed up in the dozens to Tuesday's meeting as they had to many others throughout the process, with the most vocal advocates coming from Loma Alta.

After the vote, they were groans and insults tossed at the board as parents and students filed out of the room.

Some parents, as well as board members, expressed concerns about fairness of the process.  Some of the discussion centered around San Rafael Elementary, a school that was considered for closure but not ultimately recommended by the volunteer committee.

Several board members who voted against closure suggested in comments to the Pasadena Star News that there was advocacy for keeping San Rafael open by committee members on the all-volunteer panel.

But ulimately, said Renatta Cooper, the board's goal should to be keep all the schools open.  The process set up parents from different schools to fight against each other, she said at Tuesday's meeting.

"I've been disturbed this evening by some of tension between Loma Alta and San Rafael parents," Cooper said.  "I don't want you to feel like you should all have to go at each other."