October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2019 

VOLUME 13 NO. 40


COMMUNITY CONCERN GROWS 
OVER POSSIBLE CLOSING OF SIERRA 
MADRE MIDDLE SCHOOL By Susan Henderson


The Board of the Pasadena Unified 
School District, in its efforts to deal 
with devastating budget shortages and 
declining enrollment, will hold a meeting 
on Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 
4:30 pm at PUSD headquarters to discuss 
the second phase of the report by 
the Master Plan/Boundary subcommittee. 
According the the agenda distributed 
on Friday evening, discussion 
of additional consolidatioins/closures 
of secondary schools will occur. In the 
presentation that will be presented, Sierra 
Madre Middle School is included 
in several of the scenarios, one of which 
is to close the school completely. In the 
report, the scenario that would close 
SMMS would leave open Eliott, Wilson, 
Washington and Blair. Children currently 
attending Sierra Madre would 
be directed to one of the remaining 
schools. Also closing in that scenario 
would be McKinley and Marshall Middle 
Schools.

 In 2013, after years of delays, the 
district spent in excess of $27 million 
dollars on SMMS, making it a State of 
the Art educational facility. It is the 
best performing Middle School in the 
district and the only school that has a 
Mandarin Immersion Program. Many 
feel that perhaps for those reasons alone, Sierra Madre may survive closure and 
would expand its student population from other schools.

 After the first round of closures, PUSD President Larry Torres, who represents 
the district that includes Sierra Madre, wrote an open letter to the entire PUSD 
community describing the difficulty in making such tough decisions. It has 
been reprinted on the right. To review the full presentation go to: https://pusd.
granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=15&event_id=408&meta_id=112599 

OPEN LETTER BY PUSD 
ABOUT SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Dear Pasadena Unified community

 Last night [Septmeber 26] was an important time for the entire 
PUSD community. With a goal of deepening equitable student 
access to high quality educational programs while laying a stable 
and sustainable foundation for the future, the Board of Education 
made the very difficult decision to consolidate Franklin 
Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, and Roosevelt Elementary at 
the end of the 2019-2020 school year. In October, the Board will 
deliberate on recommendations for secondary schools.

 This comes after nearly a year of conversations with the Master 
Plan/Boundary Subcommittee and the Board of Education about 
the number and location of schools that our District should 
operate in the next five to ten years, given the ongoing challenges 
of lower birth rates, rising housing costs, and the resulting impact 
on enrollment and funding.

 Our decision... is anchored in our goal of creating a future for 
PUSD as a stable, sustainable, and high quality public school 
system. It moves us toward actualizing our mission to deliver a 
caring, engaging, and challenging education for every child, every 
day.

 Over the last decade, we have strengthened Pasadena Unified 
schools with excellent, rigorous, and engaging services for 
our students: from arts and music, dual language, magnet, and 
STEM to International Baccalaureate and high school academies. 
Our schools are igniting a curiosity for learning and producing 
extraordinary graduates who are poised to excel in the careers of 
tomorrow.

 As a result of these decisions, we can preserve and enhance our 
students’ experience with the resources they need to be successful 
in school and in their future. 

 This was a very painful decision for everyone, beginning with the 
students, families, and staff of Franklin, Jefferson, and Roosevelt. 
In the weeks ahead, we will work to ensure that the transition 
to new schools is as smooth as possible for everyone. We have 
already begun to strategically review the specific needs and 
requirements related to our Special Education population affected 
by this consolidation. We remain focused on providing a calm 
and stable environment so that all children continue to learn. 

Sincerely,

Larry Torres 

President, Board of Education

David Verdugo, Ed.D.

Interim Superintendent


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com