EDUCATION AND YOUTH 

7

Mountain View News Saturday, March 15, 2025

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

WHY PUSD MUST 
MAKE THESE DIFFICULT 
CHOICES

March 12, 2025

Dear Pasadena Unified School District 
Community,

I want to address our current financial situation 
and the extraordinarily difficult decisions 
to put our district on a path toward fiscal stability. 
This year has tested us in ways we never 
could have imagined. First, we endured the 
devastating Eaton fire, then we faced the difficult 
financial realities that followed.

Thank you to our Board of Education and 
district leadership for your courage in making 
difficult decisions for the future of our district. 
Together, we will continue to overcome 
our challenges and emerge even stronger. Our 
students deserve nothing less, and we are dedicated 
to ensuring their success.

Why We’re Addressing Our Financial Situation 
Now

The overwhelming majority of California 
school districts are suffering serious financial 
challenges very similar to those faced by 
Pasadena Unified, and nearly all of them are 
implementing local budget cuts.

PUSD has been struggling with a structural 
deficit (budgeting and spending more funds 
than we receive each year) since before the 
COVID pandemic because of declining enrollment, 
rising costs, maintaining a full commitment 
to mandated services, and lower-
than-anticipated funding from the State. One 
of the significant cost issues is that the State’s 
annual inflation allowance comes nowhere 
near covering the real increased costs of services 
that rise every year.

Approximately $62 million in emergency COVID 
funding allowed us to ramp up services 
to respond and recover from the pandemic. It 
also freed monies in our general fund, bolstering 
our reserves and allowing us to increase 
compensation for our hard-working teachers 
and employees, resulting in a 28% salary increase 
over three consecutive years.

Last fall, under a fiscal stabilization plan mandated 
by the Los Angeles County Office of 
Education, we began addressing a $47 million 
three-year deficit. Because making such 
a large reduction in a single year would create 
irreparable harm to our students’ education 
and destabilize public education in our 
community, we looked at ways to make the 
reductions over several years while engaging 
our community in the process. In November, 
voters approved Measure EE, a local parcel tax 
that reduced the deficit to $37 million.

School funding in California is based upon 
a system of average daily attendance (ADA), 
which means that funding is lost for every 
single day a student is not in school. Drops 
in overall enrollment translate into huge declines 
in ADA funding. It is important to note 
that PUSD is not implementing reductions as 
a result of the loss of enrollment due to the 
Eaton fire. We will be held harmless for this 
year and the 2025-26 school year. The Governor 
has also proposed language in the budget 
trailer bill to support PUSD. Although the bill 
has not been signed into law yet, we are hopeful 
that this will help us make fewer reductions 
in the future.

After the fires, we sought guidance from experts 
at the Fiscal Crisis and Management 
Assistance Team (FCMAT), the Los Angeles 
County Office of Education (LACOE), and 
the State Board of Education (SBE). All three 
advised moving forward with the reductions 
planned prior to the fires. Demonstrating fiscal 
responsibility now improves our chances 
of securing additional fire-related relief from 
the State, which is crucial for our recovery.

How Budget Decisions Were Determined

This year’s fiscal decisions were not made in 
isolation. Two processes identified the budget 
reductions: the Superintendent's Budget Advisory 
Committee (SBAC), which convened last 
fall, and the comprehensive planning process. 
We acted upon recommendations from the 
SBAC. On a parallel path, our comprehensive 
planning process balanced educational effectiveness 
with cost efficiency. We recognized 
that we could no longer sustain some staffing 
practices unique to our district. For years, we 
maintained lower ratios than what was called 
for in contracts with our labor partners.

Reductions in next year’s budget also include 
departments that manage functions such 
as enrollment, personnel, business services, 
data, and more. It also includes teachers on 
special assignment, funded centrally but located 
at schools and who work outside of the 
classroom.

Preserving Educational Programs

We will continue to stay true to our core values 
and preserve educational programs - dual 
immersion, college and career academies, arts 
education, International Baccalaureate, Advanced 
Placement, athletics, and more - that 
bolster our students’ ability to compete on a 
global level. We will continue to protect services 
essential to the success of students with 
specialized needs and that promote wellness 
and social-emotional health.

Second Interim Financial Report

The Second Interim Financial Report going 
before the Board of Education on March 13 
confirms what we already know: we had to 
make incredibly tough decisions to ensure 
that we continue to provide strong educational 
programs for our students.

We are fortunate to have received advancement 
of insurance funds. We also maintain a 
“positive” certification as highlighted in our 
Second Interim Financial Report. This confirms 
that we are in good standing and can 
meet our reserve requirements for this year 
and the next two fiscal years.

The heartening news is that our district is on 
the path to fiscal stability. This came at a painful 
cost, including layoffs and reductions affecting 
the people we care about, who serve 
our students.

Without the actions we’ve taken, we would 
face even deeper cuts next year. Though difficult, 
these reductions were necessary to prevent 
a $37 million reduction in a single year.

Even with these steps, we are not out of the 
woods yet. PUSD continues to face declining 
enrollment, lower-than-anticipated state 
funding, and rising costs. While insurance 
monies from the fire have helped us attain a 
positive certification in the second interim 
report, these funds are already earmarked to 
pay for the cleaning and restoration of our 
schools. This is not a long-term solution.

Clarifying Misconceptions

I want to address the misrepresentation of our 
contracted services and the idea that reducing 
contracts could prevent layoffs. Many of 
the contracts address unfunded mandates in 
special education, and the remainder reflect 
rising operational costs in utilities, insurance, 
and more.

Moving Forward Together

We must also acknowledge the unknowns we 
are navigating as we plan for the future. These 
include potential changes in compensation, 
unknown liabilities, the impact of a possible 
economic downturn, cuts in Federal funding, 
and the possibility of new programmatic or 
operational investments for learning recovery 
that may require additional resources. These 
factors could impact our financial outlook in 
ways we cannot fully predict at this time.

 We must continue to plan and take further 
action to ensure our financial health.

In Gratitude

We will need to remain vigilant, continue 
advocating for additional Federal, State, and 
County support, and work together to find 
sustainable solutions.

I know this is difficult, and I want you to know 
that we see you, we hear you, and we understand 
your pain and frustration. We feel the 
same way.

During this time of loss, recovery and rebuilding, 
I am sustained by one thing: the fact that 
PUSD is strong because of the collective communities 
of Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra 
Madre who care so deeply about our students 
and our schools.

Thank you for standing with us during this 
difficult time.

We will continue to keep you informed.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 

Head of School: Joanne Harabedian

E-mail address: jharabedian@alvernoheights.org

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email:inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: Brent Forsee

bforsee@ausd.net

Arroyo Pacific Academy

41 W. Santa Clara St. Arcadia, Ca, 

(626) 294-0661 Principal: Phil Clarke

E-mail address: pclarke@arroyopacific.org

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary School

Ms. Rose Navarro, Principal

2660 East Orange Grove Blvd.

Pasadena, Ca 91107

626-793-2089

https://school.abvmpasadena.org/

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 446-5588 

Head of School: Tonya Beilstein

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.org

Bethany Christian School

93 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3527 

Preschool-TK-8th Grade

Principal: Jonathon Hawes

website: www. bcslions.org

Clairbourn School

8400 Huntington Drive

San Gabriel, CA 91775

Phone: 626-286-3108 ext. 172

FAX: 626-286-1528

E-mail: jhawes@clairbourn.org

Foothill Oaks Academy

822 E. Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626) 301-9809

Principal: Nancy Lopez

www.foothilloaksacademy.org

office@foothilloaksacademy.org

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 791-1255

Head of School: Jenny Janetzke

Email: jenny@frostig.org

The Gooden School

192 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-2410 

Head of School, Jo-Anne Woolner

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road 

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 

Head of School: Gary Stern 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

La Salle College Preparatory

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 website: www.lasallehs.org

Principal Ernest Siy

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2800 Principal Darvin Jackson

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Odyssey Charter School

725 W. Altadena Dr. Altadena, Ca. 91001

(626) 229-0993 Head of School: Lauren O’Neill

website: www.odysseycharterschool.org

Pasadena High School

2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 396-5880 Principal: Dr. Eric Barba

website: http://phs.pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

322 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

Principal: Jon McMaster (626) 355-6114 

mcmaster@st-ritaschool.org

Website: www.st-ritaschool.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

141 W. Highland Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-1428 

Principal: Dr. Jodi Marchesso

E-mail address: marchesso.jodi@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Garrett Newsom

E-mail address: newsom.garrett@pusd.us

Walden School

74 S San Gabriel Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 792-6166 

www.waldenschool.net

Weizmann Day School

1434 N. Altadena Dr. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 797-0204

Lisa Feldman: Head of School

Wilson Middle School

300 S. Madre St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 449-7390 Principal: Ruth Esseln

E-mail address: resseln@pusd.us

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626) 396-3600 Website: www.pusd@pusd.us

Arcadia Unified School District

234 Campus Dr., Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 821-8300 Website: www.ausd.net

Monrovia Unified School District

325 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, Ca. 91016

(626) 471-2000 

Website: www.monroviaschools.net

Duarte Unified School District

1620 Huntington Dr., Duarte, Ca. 91010

(626)599-5000 

Website: www.duarte.k12.ca.us

 SSiieerrrraa MMaaddrree 
WWoommaann’’ss CClluubb 
550 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 22002255:: 111188 YYeeaarrss 
Founded February 23, 1907 – “Living the Volunteer Life” in Friendship 
Member of General Federation of Women’s Clubs cfwc.org & gfwc.org 
2025 Academic Scholarship 
Applications 
Due March 29 , 2025 
Application Form Online 
(Pasadena, CA Area High Schools Only) 
SierraMadreWomansClub.org 
Presented May 2025 for 2025-2026 Year. 
Join the SierraMadreWomansClub.org 
Explore SierraMadreWomansClub 
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