Panel Selected to Oversee Spending of School Bonds

The Pasadena Unified School District board has selected a 15-member oversight committee to monitor the spending of $240 million that would be generated by school bonds if voters approve their sale in Tuesday’s election.

Four residents from Altadena, 10 from Pasadena and one from Sierra Madre were chosen by the school board to become members of the Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

If the bond receives the required two-thirds support of voters, the oversight committee would meet later this month and begin the process of seeking a project manager for the massive program to renovate Pasadena’s public schools, officials said.

Pasadena panelists include structural engineer Rudolph Bermandez, local private school chief Michael Babcock, Prentice Deadrick, assistant to the city manager; Johari DeWitt-Rogers, director of media services for Pasadena City College; architect Lyman Ennis, financier Jesus Esparza, banker Steve Haderlein, Ernestine Moore, vice president of Pasadena City College; Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Ellen Pais, and retired executive Hugh Smith.

The panel’s Altadena residents are Alden Albee, Caltech dean of graduate studies; financial specialist Daniel Apodaca, oil company employee Edmund Barnum, and lawyer Joe Hopkins. The Sierra Madre panelist is library worker Catriona Shafer.

They were selected from a pool of 54 applicants. Each of the school board members was able to appoint one person to the oversight group. The remaining 19 were selected by school board members George Padilla and Jackie Jacobs.