Parents, teacher urge Pasco board to reverse or mitigate classroom closures and address life-skills transportation and air-conditioning concerns

During the meeting's public-comment period, Bridal Martinez, a Longfellow teacher and parent, asked the board to reconsider classroom closures and to provide "real, sustainable solutions that protect our students from continued disruption." Martinez said closures remove stability and the relationships that students rely on: "For many children, the school is the most stable and consistent part of their daily lives."

Nicholas Cooper, the father of a Pasco life-skills student, described a series of operational problems he said have affected special-education students, including transportation failures and air-conditioning issues. "Life skill buses, they all need to have air conditioning," Cooper said, adding that his son was not picked up this year and that class sizes have grown at his child's placement. "We don't have enough paras and enough teachers," he said, describing class sizes that moved from "six or seven" to about 12 students.

Board response and process: Board policy 14-11 was read aloud earlier in the meeting to remind the audience that the board does not respond during public comment; speakers were invited to submit comments by email. No board action was taken that evening on the matters raised in public comment.

Why it matters: Commenters framed the issues as affecting students with the highest needs and asked the board to prioritize student stability and staffing decisions. Martinez asked the board specifically to "reconsider the closure," and Cooper asked that Transportation and special-education resourcing be addressed.

Clarifying notes: Speakers described operational failures (missed pick-ups, classroom consolidations, increased class sizes, air-conditioning problems) as occurring this school year; the district did not provide a formal staff response in the meeting. The board did not vote or provide direction during the public-comment period.