Career Educator Veronica Elias Challenges the Incumbent in Pasadena’s District 3 School Board Race

Veronica Elias has spent a quarter-century inside schools — coaching teachers, turning around test scores, building systems she says outlast any single leader. Now she wants to bring that work to the other side of the table.

Elias, who filed her nomination papers and qualified for the ballot on July 30, is challenging incumbent Michelle Richardson Bailey for the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education’s District 3 seat in the November 3 election.

It is the first contested race in District 3 since Bailey ran unopposed in 2022, and it comes as the district confronts a projected budget shortfall of $30 million to $35 million, enrollment below 14,000 students, and a campus rebuilding effort still underway 19 months after the Eaton Fire.

Elias is a Pasadena resident and PUSD parent. She is a current administrator for a Los Angeles area school She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern California. If elected, she would be a first-time officeholder.

“Our district is facing a fiscal crisis, and families deserve leadership that’s honest, transparent, and prepared with real solutions, especially when difficult decisions have to be made,” Elias said in written responses to questions from Pasadena Now.

“I’ve spent my career building trust with teachers, families, students, community leaders and partners while making hard calls responsibly and in the open.”

Asked how she would approach the district’s competing demands, Elias said she favors scrutinizing overhead before touching classrooms.

“I’d advocate for an independent review of administrative spending before additional classroom cuts are considered, while supporting a comprehensive strategy to improve enrollment and reduce chronic absenteeism — both of which directly affect the district’s long-term financial health,” Elias said.

Asked what she hears most from District 3 families, Elias pointed to a deficit she said runs deeper than the budget.

“Overwhelmingly, I hear concern about trust,” she said. “Parents want to know that decisions affecting their children’s schools are being made openly, with meaningful community input, not simply communicated after they’re made.”

Beyond the budget, the district is in active litigation with the City of Pasadena over its post-fire soil remediation work, which includes plans to remove nearly 200 trees from campuses. The district says the California Department of Toxic Substances Control requires the work under state oversight to safely reopen schools; the city contends the district must comply with Pasadena’s Tree Protection Ordinance.

In her written responses, Elias said the district and the city “must work in close partnership so recovery moves forward efficiently, transparently, and with students and families at the center of every decision.”

Asked what she wants District 3 to look like by the end of a first term, Elias returned to the word that threaded through every one of her answers.

“I want families in District 3 to trust their board again,” she said, “to believe decisions are made openly, responsibly, and with the community at the table.”