High school students took the stage at Pasadena High School on Thursday, Oct. 1, running the first student-led town hall in Pasadena Unified School District history.

Four student moderators, one from each PUSD high school, questioned school board candidates at the Abel Franco Theatre in an event organized by the district's Student Think Tank.

Only students could ask questions.

The format marked a departure from adult-run candidate forums. Students collected questions from classmates through a survey and pressed candidates on seven topics: budget cuts and school consolidation, trust in the board, academics, technology, campus security and immigration enforcement, bullying and bathrooms.

The budget question addressed PUSD's fiscal crisis directly. Students asked candidates how they would protect electives, athletics and student services while the district works through a fiscal stabilization process that calls for roughly $30 million in reductions. The PUSD Board of Education approved $24.5 million in cuts from the 2026-27 budget in November 2025, citing declining enrollment, expired COVID-19 relief funds and rising costs.

Students also asked candidates about rebuilding community trust "after controversies surrounding board actions regarding school consolidation," according to the Pasadena Educational Foundation, which published an account of the event.

The fiscal tensions are not abstract. At a Sept. 10 special board meeting, outgoing District 7 board member Yarma Velázquez told colleagues, "But we still need to explore expenditure reductions if we want to have a balanced budget," as Altadena Now reported. Velázquez's seat is one of three contested PUSD board races on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Katherine Gavzy of the League of Women Voters led a one-hour virtual training session for the student moderators and loaned the team timekeeping paddles to keep candidates within their one-minute response windows. Each candidate answered the same questions.

Kaya B., a Pasadena High student who ran tech support for the event, said the format worked. "Since all the candidates answered the same questions, we really got to hear the full spectrum of each candidate's platforms and mentalities as potential board members," she said.

Anaís H., a Student Think Tank member who moderated, said the group wants board candidates to know students are invested in district policy. Adhalia R. introduced and closed the evening and managed the clock.

The Think Tank launched during the pandemic in the 2020-21 school year as PUSD's first student-led cross-district cohort. In 2023, the Board of Education approved the group's formal proposal for student elections at board meetings.

Three of the four board races on the Nov. 3 ballot are contested. In District 1, incumbent Kimberly Kenne faces Felita Kealing. In District 3, incumbent Michelle Richardson Bailey faces Veronica Elias.

In District 7, Dennis J. McNamara and Cynthia Torres are competing for Velázquez's open seat. Incumbent Patrice Marshall McKenzie will be appointed in District 5, where she was the only qualifying candidate.

The League of Women Voters co-sponsors another PUSD candidate forum on Monday, Oct. 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at PUSD headquarters, 351 S. Hudson Ave., Room 236, covering Districts 1 and 5.