What Makes a Good School Board Member?

It’s election season and three seats on the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education are being decided: those for Districts 1, 3, and 7.

The seat for District 5 is also up for re-election this year (it’s the odd-number year!), however the D5 incumbent is running unopposed and the District has a policy in place to allow unopposed candidates to skip the election and be appointed. As PUSD pays the City of Pasadena to run their elections, this is a cost-saving measure.

Only residents within Districts 1, 3, and 7 will get to vote for their representative. Not sure what District you’re in? You can check this map or your ballot. If you have a Trustee to elect, it will be on your ballot. 

Elections are always a good time to pause and think about what makes a good Board Member. Let’s start with the responsibilities of a School Board in California. From Ed100.org:

School boards are broadly responsible for the learning and well-being of each student in the district’s care.

They are also collectively responsible for specific actions including these:

-Evaluating and hiring or firing the Superintendent;

-Ensuring the financial health of the district through the budget process;

-Opening and closing schools;

-Approving the district’s annual three-year plan (LCAP);

-Proposing taxes to pay for school facilities through local school bonds;

-Approving contracts including collective bargaining agreements;

-Approving payment of damages in legal settlements;

-Approving curriculum choices. This authority can have a huge impact on learning.

Some of these responsibilities are hot topics in PUSD right now, so the candidates have absolutely been asked about them! Here are some places to find details about the candidates so you can make an informed decision:

  • PEN sent questionnaires to all six candidates. You can read the responses at penfamilies.org/election-2026

  • PEN also hosted a Candidate Forum with Blair PTSA, PTA Council, African American Parent Association, Voces Unidas, and Community Advisory Committee, moderated by the League of Women Voters. You can watch the recording on PEN’s new YouTube channel: youtube.com/@penfamilies.

  • A few other groups also had candidate forums and we’ll update our Election page

  • with recordings when they are made available.

  • The Pasadena Star-News also did informational interviews with each candidate. They are listed at the very end of the paper’s General Voter Guide webpage: https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/voter-guide/. Scroll to the end or search for “Pasadena Unified”.

We hope you find these links useful. As a friendly reminder, if you vote early, the campaigns will stop texting you!

Ask PENJennifer Allan GoldmanAsk PEN