Pasadena Unified School District

They Planned
It In Secret.

Internal emails and text messages show PUSD board members privately orchestrated school closures — including Thurgood Marshall High School — months before any public process. Then lied about it.

Read the Evidence ↓
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What the Documents Show

Public records requests uncovered a pattern of private coordination, misleading public statements, and potential Brown Act violations stretching back to Fall 2025.

October 10–11, 2025

The Paper Trail Begins

At 11:21 PM on a Friday, Fredericks emails Trustee Kenne asking for research on which positions would be "duplicative" in a consolidation — before any public process exists. The next day, Kenne sends the data and forwards the entire exchange to Harden: "FYI — A Tina request and my response." Three board members, in writing, coordinating on consolidation strategy. (CPRA 26-084)

November 30, 2025 · 11:57 PM

Privileged Legal Memo Forwarded to Harden

The night before a TSS strategy meeting, Fredericks forwards Superintendent Blanco's attorney-client privileged AB 1912 memo to Harden — framing it as "what Dr. Blanco is thinking about school consolidation." In the same email, she reveals TSS was referred to her by a "Mr. Dunning" connected to LACOE. (CPRA 26-084)

December 1, 2025

Consultant Tells Fredericks to Hide It from the Superintendent

TSS President Tahir Ahad — not yet formally hired — emails Fredericks advising her to keep their conversations secret. He also coaches her on language: say "School Reconfiguration," not "closures."

"I think it would be best to not mention our discussions to the superintendent and let her own the process."
— Tahir Ahad, TSS President, email to Tina Fredericks, December 1, 2025
January 22, 2026

TSS Formally Hired — After Months of Private Coordination

The board votes 5–2 to retain Total School Solutions as the "independent" consolidation consultant. Fredericks later publicly described the process as having "no predetermined outcome."

Fredericks publicly described the process as "transparent and unbiased with no predetermined outcome" — while internal emails show she was building the outcome for weeks before the process began.
— Colorado Boulevard, May 11, 2026
February 4, 2026

"We Tricked Her Into Voting for the Resolution"

Harden texts about privately plotting school closures — including schools he had publicly said were "fine."

"I'm plotting to close San Raf because I think locating schools where kids live is important and we tricked her into voting for the resolution so we could make changes to it after the fact."
— Scott Harden, text message, February 4, 2026 (CPRA 26-084)
March 2026

A Biased Survey, Then a Misleading Headline

TSS designs and administers a community survey that never names the targeted schools and uses "merging" framing throughout — exactly the language Ahad had coached Fredericks to use. A parent flags the bias on March 10. The survey closes March 19 with TSS presenting "65% support" — a conditional answer built on an "if" that 29–30% of respondents said they don't believe will be met.

↗ Full documented timeline — every verified date ↗ Colorado Boulevard investigative report, May 11, 2026

Documented Involvement

These four board members appear in the public records — emails, text messages, and CPRA documents — coordinating on the consolidation plan outside any public meeting.

No Private Coordination Documented — But Voted YES on Every Key Item

This trustee does not appear in the private email or text chains. But she voted YES on Resolution 2852, the TSS contract, and the SCAC outcomes — every time alongside the four implicated members.

No Documented Involvement

These two trustees have not appeared in the private coordination documents. They voted NO on Resolution 2852, the TSS contract, and subsequent consolidation items — consistently opposing the consolidation majority.

Key Players

The consolidation plan wasn't just a board operation. Documents show outside actors played a central role — before any public process began.

Latest News

May 10, 2026 · Colorado Boulevard
Inside the PUSD Consolidation Plan: Emails Reveal Early Strategy, Private Coordination, and Brown Act Questions

Internal emails show Board President Tina Fredericks built a secret "Consolidation 2027" plan weeks before any public process, privately coordinated with consultant Tahir Ahad before TSS was hired, and participated in a Brown Act daisy chain with fellow board members.

May 10, 2026 · CPRA 26-084
"We Tricked Her": Harden Texts Reveal Plot to Manipulate Consolidation Vote

Text messages obtained through public records requests show Scott Harden privately plotting to close San Rafael High School and boasting that the board "tricked" the superintendent into voting for a resolution they planned to change afterward.

May 10, 2026 · CPRA 26-084
The October 2025 Emails: Brown Act Daisy Chain Documented Four Months Before the Vote

Emails from October 10–11, 2025 show Board President Fredericks asking Kenne for consolidation research data at 11:21 PM, Kenne complying, and then Kenne forwarding the entire exchange to Harden — a documented daisy chain months before the public process began.

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