Guest Opinion | Mike Crowley: Pasadena Students First

I am honored and grateful to everyone who believed in me, supported me, donated to the campaign and most importantly to those who voted for me. I would especially like to thank Peter Roybal, Rick Nordstrom, and Thomas Koiso  without whom this journey would not have been possible. You all allowed me to  grow as a person and spread my message that the kids come first and foremost  and that we must support our great teachers, both financially and with the  technology and tools they need to do the job. Hopefully the recently approved  516-million-dollar bond issuance will serve to create something special that all the  PUSD schools can be proud of, not just the chosen few, the schools not touched  by Measure TT must be given priority over those who did get measure TT dollars. 

I urge everyone to support the good folks the voters of Pasadena chose back on  November 3rd. Not just in District #2 but for the entire Pasadena Unified School  District. Now more than ever the full Board and Dr McDonald need our help and  

support. We must get our kids back into the classroom safely and make sure that  the new funding dollars are used to build equity in our district and to support the  good programs that can be offered. 

Although I did not win, I am not going anywhere. In fact, over this last week, we  gave out turkeys to the neediest families of PUSD that I met while delivering  school meals over this past summer. 

I am also Excited to share that the anti-bully program I unveiled during the  campaign is gearing up. Our community partners are on board and energized. it is also exciting to announce that several incredibly special professional athletes  along with both major professional Basketball leagues are online to participate bringing their amazing resources to the program. A formal announcement will be  made soon with more specifics. 

While I lost the Battle for District 2, the War to support our kids and our  community may have been won. My intention for getting into this race was  always about putting the kids first and I will continue to work for them going 

forward. I want the 4000+ people who voted for me to know that I was in this  race for the right reasons. 

Happy Holidays 

Mike Crowley 
Pasadena Students First