School Board to Vote Tonight on New Middle School Boundary Map in Wake of Closure

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will decide Thursday whether to approve, or not, staff-recommended middle school attendance boundary changes driven by the decision to close Wilson Middle School.

The Board voted to close Wilson at its Oct. 24 meeting.

230 students currently attend Wilson Middle School. If these students do not participate in the open enrollment process — by which they could select a new school to attend — then they will default to the new boundaries, being determined Thursday night.

Under the new map, the northern half of Wilson’s boundary, which sits north of the 210 Freeway will be reassigned to Sierra Madre Middle School. Those residing south of the 210 will go to McKinley Middle School, with the option of preference enrollment in Blair Middle School.

Preference enrollment refers to a 50 percent of total footage set-aside for students who live in the area, according to PUSD spokeswoman Hilda Ramirez Horvath.

“So when seats are available at those grade levels, kids living in that preference zone can list that program as their first choice on their application,” she explained.

The four elementary schools within Wilson’s current boundaries (Don Benito, Norma Coombs, Hamilton, and Willard) will be rezoned as feeder schools into new assigned middle schools.

Don Benito Elementary and Norma Coombs Elementary will promote to Sierra Madre Middle School. Hamilton and Willard will promote to McKinley.

The Board Education will meet in public session on Thursday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room, 351 South Hudson Avenue, Pasadena.