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Parents, teachers and students press Pasadena Unified on charter renewals, staffing cuts and contaminated soccer field
Summary
Public commenters, including school leaders, teachers, union representatives and students, urged the board to renew Odyssey South’s charter, to reconsider staffing cuts that reduce student supports, and to address arsenic contamination at a local soccer field used by San Rafael students.
The public-comment period at the Pasadena Unified board meeting featured extended appeals by school leaders, classroom teachers, union representatives and students.
Bonnie Bicol, director of Odyssey South, and Rochelle Martínez, serving as interim executive director, urged the board to approve a seven-year renewal of Odyssey South’s charter, citing steady academic growth, socioemotional supports and resilience after multiple relocations caused by a wildfire. "Nuestra misión es tener excelencia académica, crecimiento socioemocional y un modelo de talleres cultura inclusiva," Bicol said, asking trustees to continue the partnership.
Teachers and classified staff also pressed the board on proposed cuts. Barbara Isida, a second-grade teacher at Norms Elementary, told trustees that combining MTSS coaches with wellness coaches has created untenable workloads for staff and compromises interventions for student groups who rely on small-group support.
Labor representatives echoed those concerns. A union leader who identified himself as Rodríguez, president of the Association of Technical Educators, and representatives from other employee groups warned that deep, rapid cuts would jeopardize services and employee livelihoods and urged the board to pursue alternative savings.
Students delivered some of the meeting’s most emotional testimony. Several fifth-grade students and community members described a long-standing soccer field at San Rafael that was closed after tests showed high arsenic levels. "Tenemos miedo...Por favor, díganme algo que no me me dé miedo," said Trave, a fifth-grader, asking for a remediation timeline and information about how long arsenic had been present. A community member, Kenji Bandenburg, told the board the field’s closure had deprived students of play and contributed to injuries when they used alternative surfaces.
Why it matters: Public comment highlighted how budget decisions and facility conditions intersect with student safety and learning. Trustees heard pleas to protect programs (special education supports, MTSS, music, libraries), to preserve jobs and to give students timely information about environmental hazards.
What the board said: Trustees acknowledged the concerns and said staff would follow up on testing and remediation information for the contaminated field, and that the administration would examine how proposed reductions would be implemented and monitored before further cuts.
Next steps: The board asked staff to provide further information on remediation and to consult with affected schools and families; the charter renewals and consent items were considered later on the consent calendar.
