Loma Alta, Jackson, and Burbank elementary schools -- all in Altadena -- were recommended for closure by the Pasadena Unified School District consolidation committee Saturday.
However, there's an asterisk: according to committee vice chair Ken Roberts, the recommendation to close Burbank was with the contingency that the property be used to house Norma Coombs Alternative School, now located in Pasadena.
What that would mean, Roberts said, is that Burbank would close as a "neighborhood" school and the K-5 Norma Coombs program -- a "choice" school --would be moved to the Burbank building at 2046 N. Allen. The advantage is that the Burbank school has the ability to take on the Nora Coombs students and still leave enough space to absorb the number of students who attend Burbank as a "neighborhood" school.
Burbank also has a proper cafeteria and auditorium and other facilities that Norma Coombs' present building does not, Roberts said, and many residents of Altadena and the west side of the district already attend Norma Coombs. In addition, there was a feeling in the committee that they didn't want to "decimate Altadena."
The choices of which schools to recommend were hard, Roberts said, but also made some sense. Loma Alta is at "the far corner of everything," and there is not much room for expansion. Roberts also said that a low percentage of children in the area actually go to Loma Alta as a neighborhood school.
However, the school building is on "prime real estate" for community-based programs, Roberts said, and some of the programs for special needs children at Hodges Children's Center in Pasadena could easily be relocated to the Loma Alta building.
Closing Jackson Elementary "was a really difficult decision," Roberts said, which split the panel -- 11 of 21 panel members agreed to closing it. However, "Jackson is one of the lowest performing schools in the district," Roberts said, "and has been battling that for five or six years ... how long does it take to turn the school around?" The idea of moving the Norma Coombs program to Jackson was considered, Roberts said, but it would be hard to expand the campus if necessary and there is insufficient parking for staff.
Roberts said that the committee will meet on Wednesday and Saturday to formalize a report to PUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz, and he will probably make his recommendation to the school board in early November.
