‘We’re Not Just Rebuilding, We’re Dreaming Big’ PUSD Board President Tells Community at 2026 State of the Schools

Pasadena Unified School District leaders told families, educators and civic officials that the District is rebuilding after a year marked by the Eaton Fire, community concerns over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and a $30 million budget-reduction plan, during the 2026 State of the Schools ceremony held Wednesday evening — Earth Day — at Mary W. Jackson STEAM Multilingual Magnet Elementary in Altadena. The full text of Board President Tina Fredericks’ address is reproduced below.

Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco reported that the District’s graduation rate has increased to 91%, that early literacy is improving under newly adopted programs, and that Pasadena High School is ranked among the top three California public high schools for UCLA acceptance rates. Blanco said all four Pasadena Unified School District comprehensive high schools — Pasadena High School, Marshall, Muir and Blair — have exceeded projected university acceptance rates this year, and that 12 John Muir High School students will graduate with their associate in arts degrees and high school diplomas, as well as additional certificates.

Five Blair High School juniors have been named National Merit Scholars, she said, and the District’s dual enrollment partnership with PCC won a statewide exemplary award.

Blanco also said Thurgood Marshall hosted the District’s annual Women’s History Month and that visual and performing arts students traveled to New York City for the World Strides Music Heritage Festival, where they earned top honors for chamber choir, Soto Voce, chamber orchestra, jazz band and wind ensemble.

Blanco acknowledged the District is facing a structural deficit, rising costs, declining enrollment and funding uncertainty, and said the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee was reconvened to identify $30 million in reductions and savings.

She said difficult decisions were necessary to preserve classroom instruction and signature programs, and that the District is engaged in conversations about the future use of facilities, including possible campus mergers, which she said the District will approach “with transparency and care.”

Fredericks, in the evening’s keynote address, opened by recalling that on the first day of the 2025-26 school year — Monday, Aug. 18 — she joined community volunteers taking up positions around a Northwest Pasadena elementary school to watch for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

She said the District — which encompasses Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre — has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eaton Fire and community concerns this year over ICE, and that students remain “safe, secure, receiving a quality education, and are stronger human beings due to what they endured.”

The Los Angeles County Office of Education issued a positive certification of the District’s second interim financial report earlier this month, Fredericks reported, and credited voter-approved Measures J, EE and R with protecting student programs and funding long-term facility investments, including solar canopies planned for three school sites by summer 2028.

The program featured student speakers Azucena Paez, a Pasadena High School senior bound for California State University, San Marcos, and Journey Everly, a seventh grader from Eliot Arts Magnet, whose Eliot Arts Middle School campus was destroyed in the Eaton Fire and whose students were welcomed onto the McKinley School campus.

Event emcee Veronica Villagrana, principal of Mary W. Jackson STEAM Multilingual Magnet Elementary, recognized leaders and partners attending the ceremony.

Following is the full text of Pasadena Unified School District Board President Tina Fredericks’ address, as delivered April 22, and transcribed from the official event recording. Every effort has been made to ensure this version is accurate.

Full Text of Pasadena Board of Education President Tina Fredericks’ 2026 State of the Schools Address

Good evening, everyone, to those who are joining us here at the esteemed Mary Jackson STEAM Multilingual Elementary Magnet in our beloved Altadena. And good evening to those who are joining us from home. I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have dedicated yourself to supporting Pasadena Unified School District. Your time and contributions are invaluable and are deeply appreciated.

Again, I’m Tina Fredericks, a Pasadena Unified Board President. My pronouns are she, her, hers.

This has been a highly unique and eventful year to say the least. Understanding the current state of the schools warrants recognizing how the school year began. Monday morning, Aug. 18, I got ready for the day, drove to one of our elementary schools in Northwest Pasadena before the parents walked their children to school. I met up with community volunteers. We took up our designated positions around the school to watch for ICE. This was the first day of school.

Since then, nutritional programs and healthcare funding have been cut. There are ongoing and new wars, economic turmoil, protests here and abroad, family, friends, neighbors, targeted, and deported without due process.

We say at Pasadena Unified School District, every child is our child. The Pasadena Unified School District, encompassing Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre, is a special community that deeply cares about each other. Crisis after crisis — first, the COVID pandemic, then the Eaton Fire, and this year, the ICE agents — our District continues to address these challenges head on with compassion and creativity. I’m proud to report our students are safe, secure, receiving a quality education, and are stronger human beings due to what they endured.

Our District is very grateful for the voters of Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre who have supported official bond and parcel tax measures that have provided stable funding for our schools.

This work must be backed by strong financial planning, and this is the best part — the financial update.

The District’s combined general fund revenues come from the state, the federal government, and local sources. The state provides these funds through the Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, which has two main sources of revenue: property taxes and state aid. As of the second interim report, the total LCFF entitlement for the 2025-26 fiscal year was approximately $190.7 million. These funds come to the District in two forms: base grants used for general operations, and supplemental and concentration grants, which are targeted for specific student populations such as foster youth, English learners, and students qualifying for low socioeconomic status. These supplemental and concentration grant funds must be used to supplement the general education program and ensure that all students have the resources they need to succeed.

Like many California school districts, we face serious fiscal challenges, and we had to make tough choices to identify $30 million in reductions and savings for the 2026-27 school year, including central office reductions and staffing adjustments. These were difficult decisions, but they were necessary to preserve classroom instruction, maintain reserves, and continue essential programs in literacy, math, wellness, and college and career readiness.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, or LACOE, issued a positive certification of our second interim financial report. Their recommendation affirmed the path we’re on for sustained financial stability, but we have to act cautiously to maintain our fiscal stability, even as our District’s enrollment continues to decline each year and costs continue to rise.

One of the recommendations from LACOE in order to bring long-term financial stability to the District was to, quote, “do things differently.” The Board took that seriously and directed the superintendent to hire an independent external consultant to look at the potential school consolidation that would expand educational opportunities to all students and reduce long-term facilities costs by having to maintain fewer schools.

The District has gone through school consolidation multiple times, but it’s always difficult and it’s extremely emotional. I ask all of us to treat each other with sensitivity and care throughout this process. Each of our schools have their own individual closely knit community. However, no school is an island. The destiny of all of our schools and all of our students are bound together by our shared budget.

Thanks to the passage of Measure J and Measure EE, we’ve continued to reduce our deficit and protect vital student programs. We’re committed to making every dollar count. As we move forward, we will engage our community to help guide our decisions. Our community has shown up for our schools time and time again. The passage of Measure R in 2024, which secured $900 million in local funds for school upgrades, was a clear statement. Our students deserve safe, modern, innovative learning environments, and we will deliver.

What is specifically unique about the Measure R bond is its intent to fund renewable and clean energy infrastructure and accessible green learning environments. Take, for example, Jackson’s playground. Thanks to the voters who supported Measure R, the District can build towards a sustainable future. Our District is actively working side by side with Pasadena Water and Power to identify school sites that are ideal to install solar panels. The City of Pasadena has committed to reaching its goal of 100% carbon-free energy by end of 2030, and our District is supporting that effort. Generating and storing our own solar-powered electricity translates into potentially millions of dollars in annual savings for the District’s general fund. Solar canopies are planned for three school sites to be completed by the summer of 2028. This is a clear example of one-time bond dollars that are strategically invested in our schools that translate to ongoing annual savings. This would not be possible without the support of our community.

To further illustrate what it means to the District to have stable funding sources of our local bonds, I would like to invite up to the stage Journey Everly, a seventh grader from Eliot Arts Middle School and former Jackson Elementary student.

When the Eaton Fire destroyed Eliot Arts Middle School, the students were moved to McKinley. The McKinley community, its students and staff, welcomed and embraced the Eliot community, made space, and shared space with them. Again, thanks to the bond dollars, the District was able to turn a baseball field into an entire set of new classrooms, administration buildings, and a dedicated secure entrance just for the Eliot Arts community at McKinley School. Our District facilities leadership understood that the Eliot Arts community needed not just space, but a space they can call their own. Now I’d like to introduce the seventh grade student from Eliot Arts Magnet, who I heard speak at an event last week. Please welcome Journee Everly.

[Journee Everly delivered remarks.]

This is our future leaders. Thank you, Journey. She was actually part of the original program, but she moved me so deeply that I had to ask her to come to speak. So thank you, Journey. Thank you, Journey, for telling your story.

This goes to show that no matter what happens, not even the second most destructive fire in California can destroy the heart and soul of Pasadena Unified School District. We take care of each other. It’s just what we do.

I’m going to be honest, this year has been really difficult with what is happening in our country, in our world, but there is a lot of good happening here at Pasadena Unified School District. There are so many people doing good — students, parents, teachers, staff, community members, educational partners, administrators. It truly takes a village.

This year, we are laying the foundation to fundamentally transform our District. We’re not just rebuilding, we’re dreaming big. And with the support of the community, the future looks bright.

Thank you.