The end of the school year typically comes with excitement over the upcoming summer break and celebrating student achievement. It also includes looking ahead to what comes next.

However, for some parents, such as Corrine Parker, this year’s last few weeks have been filled unease and uncertainty.

Parker, a Pasadena Unified School District teacher and parent, has two children set to attend Octavia Butler Magnet next school year.

But this has been a year like no other, and emerging questions about the impact of the fire on the district have Parker wondering.

Last week, the district released the results of soil testing at more than 30 schools and district offices.

More than half of the district’s campuses found at least one soil sample containing a concentration of a harmful substance above California’s health screening level: Allendale Elementary, Altadena Arts Magnet, Blair High School, Field Elementary, Jefferson Children’s Center, John Muir High School, Longfellow Elementary, Madison Elementary, Marshall Secondary, Octavia Butler Magnet, San Rafael Elementary, Washington STEM, Webster Elementary, Cleveland, Hodges, La Casita, the District Service Center and the district’s main office.

PUSD said it would continue testing for more substances but those included in the initial testing results included lead, arsenic, chromium, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins/furans.

Testing at Octavia Butler found two locations on campus with 135 mg/kg and 112 mg/kg of lead respectively. The state health screening level is 80 mg/kg.

Parker said the district should have performed the soil testing before reopening schools.

“I feel like we were pushed to go back a lot earlier than we should have,” Parker said.

The results at Octavia Butler left Parker unsure about what next school year holds.

“It has given me pause to think, ‘is this a school I actually want my kids to go to?’” Parker said.

For a district with open questions about what next school year will look like in terms of enrollment, the soil results add another concern for parents such as Parker. That’s already after some have decided to leave PUSD due to the Eaton fire and subsequent fallout.

The concern over enrollment is particularly acute in this moment as the district navigates choppy financial seas. A combination of pre-fire factors including a decade of declining enrollment, expiration of COVID-19 relief funds and rising costs have left a more than $30 million deficit to manage.

Board of Education approved layoffs were met with strong criticism but despite some being rescinded, officials have warned that more are on the way in the coming years.

Parker is one of the 25 employees being laid off by PUSD. She was displaced from her Altadena home in the fire and has been commuting from Simi Valley to keep working. She’s pursuing a special education credential as a way to get another job with the district if the board to not rescind the layoff notice.

Parker and members of the United Teachers of Pasadena rallied prior to Thursday’s PUSD Board of Education meeting calling on the district to rescind the remainder of the planned layoffs.

Parents that have already made the decision to leave PUSD in the wake of the Eaton fire used the recent results as another data point to help decide whether to stay put or return to the district next school year.

David Veloz moved his daughter from Odyssey Charter South to a Pasadena private school because of the concern over the temporary space the district arranged for displaced Odyssey students in the wake of the fire.

Veloz acknowledged the tough position officials and board members have been put in to bring back normalcy to schools.

“At the same time, when it comes to the health and well being of people and especially the kids … you just can’t shortcut these things,” Veloz said.

According to health officials, lead exposure is particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women. In children, it can lead to developmental delays, learning difficulties, behavior problems and lower IQ. Affects can be permanent and without obvious symptoms until it’s too late.

Exposure during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, low birth rate and development issues. Adults exposed to lead could experience high blood pressure, kidney damage, mood disorders and problems with memory and concentration.

The release of the soil testing results confirmed Veloz’s position of staying away from Altadena parks and schools for the foreseeable future and to not have his child return to Odyssey next school year.

“It’s just easier to stay away,” Veloz said.

The district conducted it’s own testing program after a county soil testing study in both fire areas found elevated levels of lead in the Eaton fire area both on properties downwind of the fire and on parcels cleared of debris by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This week, the county began a self-testing program that residents in impacted area can sign up for. The program will be funded by $3 million that the Board of Supervisors allocated for soil testing.

According to the district, outdoor areas with impacted soil will remain closed until remediation is complete.

The district on Friday, May 23, did not provide a timeline for when further results would be released saying it would rely on consultation with state and local agencies.

Officials reiterated that all necessary remediation would happen before the next school year, but did not say how much that process would cost or what the funding sources would be.

“We are working closely with the Pasadena Public Health Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to ensure that all actions are rooted in science and guided by local and state environmental and public health experts,” a PUSD statement read.