Cahalan to Host Town Hall on Reopening Schools

In an effort to answer questions regarding the reopening of schools, Pasadena Board of Education member Patrick Cahalan will be hosting a town hall meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. today.

“With the Legislature and the governor apparently coming to an agreement on a budget encouraging public school districts to open for some form of in-person instruction, there’s been a flood of questions regarding PUSD’s reopening plan,” Cahalan said.

At a joint meeting between the board and the Pasadena City Council on Monday. Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Brian McDonald said he would make a recommendation regarding reopening schools on Thursday when the board meets starting at 1:30 p.m. in special session.

If the district follows its announced plans, the earliest it could reopen would be close to Monday, March 29.

The board could also approve a return date on Thursday, which would put the first available opening date on Thursday, March 24.

The district must reopen before April 1 to get the maximum funds promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom. In order to qualify, districts must open kindergarten through second-grade classrooms.

The district revealed a three-week return plan that would go into effect after a return date is announced. 

In correspondence to the City Council on Monday, teachers expressed reticence about reopening. 

“As teachers, we are passionate about teaching and we love serving the community with our skills,” said Cassandra Williams. “However, we aren’t sure all safety precautions are ready to be implemented. Knowing that this virus could be deadly causes an insurmountable amount of fear. Knowing that one could also infect their own family is concerning.”

So far, the district has vaccinated 280 PUSD employees. An additional 140 school district employees could be vaccinated this week.

Teachers and other essential workers, such as food service workers and law enforcement officials, are eligible for inoculations, and more vaccine doses will be put aside for teachers. On March 15, everyone 16 and over with a serious underlying health condition will become eligible for vaccination.

“One of the things we want to put in place is a fully online program for students, but that may not be possible for next year,” McDonald said.

McDonald said it was on the district’s radar, but had not been fully discussed.

Collaborate Pasadena will be hosting and Spanish translation will be available.

The meeting can be viewed at 

https://tcsedsystem.zoom.us/j/99525249851?pwd=bVBJL3pHYUR0aVhHTjhGWVpFd2kxZz09

Meeting ID: 995 2524 9851

Passcode: 573575