PUSD Board to Consider 30% Shade Goal for Student Areas Thursday

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will consider a resolution Thursday, Aug. 27, that would set a goal of covering 30% of the outdoor areas designated for student learning, play and circulation with mature tree canopy by 2035.

Resolution No. 2901 would establish a “long range goal” to preserve the district’s existing canopy and work toward 30% through phased implementation. It carries no appropriation. District school sites range between 8% and 15% coverage, according to a 2023 California Schoolyard Tree Canopy Equity study cited in the resolution, which also cites research that canopy reduces urban heat, improves air quality and supports student concentration and academic performance.

Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco or a designee would have six months to present a draft implementation plan and 12 months to bring a detailed plan to the seven-member board.

Pasadena Unified manages approximately 5,000 trees. Recent budget reductions have cut grounds staffing by approximately 50%, “affecting the District’s ability to maintain its existing tree inventory and any additional trees planted under this Resolution,” according to the resolution. It directs Blanco to “explore diverse public and private funding mechanisms” and volunteer labor through partner organizations, and requires “meaningful community participation.”

The Board of Education meets Thursday, Aug. 27, with the public portion beginning at 6:45 p.m. in the Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room 236, PUSD Education Center, 351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena. The meeting is open to the public.