Guest Opinion | Elizabeth Pomeroy: We Need a New “Committee of the Whole”

In its Special Meeting of August 13, the Pasadena Unified School District School Board took two votes: to declare themselves a Committee of the Whole, and to address one topic: transformation of the District. They tabled items that would have approved various points about future school closures.

With these steps they made themselves the group to discuss what transformation would mean, and they are surely keeping alive the topic of closing campuses.

I speak from my experience of 13 years on the Pasadena Unified School District Board, present experience as a Pasadena Unified School District grandparent, and a resident of Pasadena for 50 years. When we speak of transformation, I would like to see a true reset in who is really leading the open exchange of views that shape decision-making.

I propose a new concept of the “Committee of the Whole.” This would include all Pasadena Unified School District families, students, employees, alumni — everyone who has been at the heart of Pasadena Unified School District in some way. Can we find a way for all of them to be heard in re-thinking, re-imagining our Pasadena Unified School District? That would really be transformation, not reviving the same old issues of which schools to close.

I don’t know how such an unheard-of Committee of the Whole could work. But some visionary people could forge it. Strong thoughtful components already exist:

Families: think of Parent Teacher Associations, the African American Parents Council (AAPC), the District English Learners Advisory Council (DELAC), Special Education parents, all the families leading activities on Pasadena Unified School District campuses, supporters of the arts and athletics, everyone with a child in Pasadena Unified School District;

Students: the Think Tank and the Student Assembly are the young leaders turning our eyes to the future: let’s listen to them! And to any other initiatives that come from the students, of any age;

Employees: our Unions, the labor partners, speak for thousands of teachers, staff and the indispensable people who forge a campus into a community: let’s listen to them and not undermine their efforts by making their schools feel precarious;

And Alumni: Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre are full of Pasadena Unified School District alums, and they are proud of it. I meet them every day. Many are active in civic life. Many are working in Pasadena Unified School District schools. Some groups exist, like the stellar John Muir High School Alumni Association. Other alums find each other and want the best for today’s Pasadena Unified School District.

The School Board is part of this ecosystem too, and I honor the long hours and much study they devote to Pasadena Unified School District. I know about their work, and the hard decisions they often face. But I believe that when we talk about transformation of Pasadena Unified School District, the discussion should not be just by the seven people but the Pasadena Unified School District Committee of the Whole.

I have found that, when a whole new concept is introduced, that can free participants from repetitive thinking and small changes. For example, closing more schools seems to me like a downward spiral. But what could a New Committee of the Whole offer to carry Pasadena Unified School District on an upward spiral? Thinking in those terms, the discussion becomes inclusive, creative, possibly daring.

The Board has set us the challenging term, transformation. Ideas and dreams for Pasadena Unified School District are as thick as snowflakes on a mountaintop. Now how can we get free from past “solutions” and listen to the New Committee of the Whole, bringing their ideas to life? If the Board can embrace this concept, making no major decisions until they’ve heard from this New Committee, doors will open toward a new Pasadena Unified School District.

Pasadena Unified School District people and friends of Pasadena Unified School District, will you join the New Committee of the Whole? The work of transformation is with us. Let’s figure out how to create that upward spiral.