Total School Solutions
The education consulting firm retained by PUSD to lead the consolidation process — before a formal contract existed.
Who They Are
Total School Solutions (TSS) is an education consulting firm that works with school districts on facilities planning, enrollment analysis, and school reconfiguration. PUSD hired them as the external consultant to lead its 2025–26 school consolidation process.
Key personnel:
- Tahir Ahad — TSS President. Communicated directly with Board President Fredericks beginning in Fall 2025, before TSS was formally contracted.
- Joseph Pandolfo — TSS Executive Vice President. Led SCAC meetings, presented cost savings projections, and designed the community survey.
The Pre-Contract Coordination
TSS was not contracted by PUSD until January 22, 2026. But documents produced through CPRA requests show that Board President Tina Fredericks had been coordinating privately with Ahad since at least November 2025 — weeks before any formal engagement and months before the board was told.
"Since all emails to TSS are discoverable with a Freedom of Information Request, you may wish to consider getting Sarine involved in communications about this subject which would allow the communication to be protected by attorney client privilege."
On November 20, 2025, TSS President Ahad sent Fredericks a draft board resolution — "Pasadena Board item.docx" — with the note "Please review and modify as needed." The board vote on that resolution would not occur for another three weeks.
"I think it would be best to not mention our discussions to the superintendent and let her own the process."
The board was not told about any of this coordination until January 2026, when it voted 5–2 to formally retain TSS.
The Contract Vote
On January 22, 2026, the PUSD board voted 5–2 to retain Total School Solutions as the consolidation consultant.
YES (5): Harden, Velázquez, Fredericks, Kenne, Marshall McKenzie
NO (2): Hall Lee, Richardson Bailey
What Fredericks Said Publicly
On April 13, 2026, Fredericks wrote to Warren Bleeker describing TSS as the district's neutral, independent expert — framing their selection as the superintendent's decision, not hers:
"As directed by the Board by Resolution 2582, Superintendent Dr. Blanco has designated Total School Solutions, to be the independent, reliable, and unbiased external expertise to lead the process."
Documents produced through CPRA requests show this framing was false. Fredericks had been coordinating with TSS since at least November 2025. TSS sent her draft resolutions and advised her on communications strategy. Fredericks chose TSS; Blanco ratified it.
CPRA 26-086: The Records Request Targeting TSS
On April 1, 2026, PUSD parent Gerrit Bleeker filed CPRA 26-086, specifically requesting:
- All communications between Orbach, Huff & Henderson (PUSD's law firm) and Total School Solutions
- All documents related to TSS Executive Vice President Joseph Pandolfo
The documents produced in response to this and related CPRA requests became the basis for public accountability reporting on the pre-contract coordination.
TSS Acknowledges Errors
On April 27, 2026, at the SCAC meeting, Pandolfo acknowledged that TSS's projected cost savings for proposed school closures were inaccurate. He stated the projections used incorrect data and did not account for the $24.5 million in budget reductions the board had already approved in November 2025.
↗ Colorado Boulevard: Inside the PUSD Consolidation Plan, May 11, 2026 ↗ Colorado Boulevard: Pasadena Unified Consolidation Committee Faces Scrutiny ↗ CPRA Records and Exhibits ↗ Tina Fredericks — Full Record