City Council and School Board to Convene a Rare Joint Meeting on Monday

The Pasadena City Council and the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will hold a special joint meeting on Monday, the first announced public session between the two bodies since May of last year.

The joint meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave., will address three items: green energy initiatives at both agencies, shared advocacy for federal funding, and collaboration on after-school and summer programs.

Earlier the same evening, at 4:30 p.m. in the same chamber, the Council will convene a separate closed-session conference on the employment of a public employee, identified in the notice as the City Manager. The notice does not describe what action, if any, may follow.

A Transition in the Manager’s Office

The closed-session item follows a series of changes in the City Manager’s office in recent days. Former City Manager Miguel Márquez, who held the post for more than three years, concluded his tenure on April 10. Assistant City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth was appointed interim City Manager effective April 17.

On April 15, the Council announced the appointment of Mike Futrell as the next City Manager, with an expected start date of May 13. Futrell has served as Riverside’s City Manager for three years, and previously held the same role in South San Francisco.

Federal Funding and Shared Advocacy

The second item on the joint agenda is a discussion of shared advocacy efforts to lobby for adequate federal funds to support City- and School District-mandated services, including public health, housing, and special education services for students with disabilities.

The topic is one school district leaders have flagged this year. During February board deliberations on layoff resolutions, Trustee Jennifer Hall Lee described inadequate state and federal funding — particularly for special education — as the root cause of the district’s fiscal pressure. The board approved resolutions that month eliminating more than 160 certificated positions for the 2026–2027 school year.

The Pasadena Unified School District serves approximately 14,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students who reside in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.

Green Energy and Shared Spaces

The first agenda item calls for an update and discussion on City and School District green energy initiatives, including but not limited to municipal and school site solar projects. Solar panels are installed at 28 campuses and sites across the Pasadena Unified School District under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement. The City has set a goal of achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity by the end of 2030.

The third item concerns opportunities for collaboration on after-school and summer programs, including joint-use agreements and shared spaces. Past joint sessions between the Council and Board have addressed the Jefferson Elementary campus joint-use agreement and recovery from the Eaton Fire of January, which damaged or destroyed five Pasadena Unified School District campuses, according to the district.

Procedure and Public Comment

Mayor Victor M. Gordo presides over City Council meetings. Tina Fredericks serves as president of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, and Yarma Velázquez as vice president.

Public comment will be taken at the time each item is discussed, according to the joint meeting notice. Comments are limited to no more than two minutes per speaker, and the Mayor and Board President may shorten that limit if reasonable under the circumstances.