September 3, 2015

Miharu Cynthia Yuge

Akemi Joyce Yuge
Nadine Ishizu
Carolyn Yuge
177 East Mariposa Street
Altadena, California 91001
Dear Cindy, Joyce, Nadine and Carolyn,

Thank you, Cindy, Joyce and Nadine, for coming to the PWS Board meeting Monday evening.
The Board reviewed the comments and materials you provided. In answer to your request for
purchasing a portion of the property, the school has written the following statement which will
be communicated to the people who emailed us, to concerned governmental authorities,
community groups, and to the media.
The statement is as follows:
In a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Waldorf School held
on August 31, 2015, the Board decided to neither sell nor enter into negotiations for the
subdivision or sale of a portion of the west side of the schools Mariposa campus.
As the School continues the evaluation of this portion of the property, the Yuge family will be
kept informed of plans for the cottage.
The beautiful Torrey Pine will be preserved and safeguarded at the front of the property, as will
the trees along the western edge and the three small Japanese pines on the property. As the
School has consistently stated, PWS is committed to exploring and finding a meaningful way to
honor the legacy of the Scripps, Kellogg and Yuge families connection with the property.
At the Board meeting on August 31, Cindy, Joyce and Nadine Yuge; Mark Tajima, Mary Scripps
Spriestersbach, and Bob Spriestersbach appeared in-person to speak to the Board about their
wish to preserve the property as a dedication to the Scripps and Yuge families and to Japanese
heritage in Altadena. After much press and on-line comments about the situation, PWS Board
members appreciated the opportunity to hear from the Yuge family and friends directly. This
process has allowed the PWS school community to deepen an understanding of the history of
the property and the legacies of the Yuge, Scripps and Kellogg families that are intimately
connected to it.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times in 1987, PWS was selected as the buyer because of the
Schools commitment to save the Scripps home and the parcel from subdivision. William C.
Kellogg, the great grandson of the original owner William Armiger Scripps, called the Schools
purchase a great compromise between those favoring development and those wanting to
preserve the mansion as a community center.
As part of that original agreement, the School agreed to honor a promise by the Kellogg family.
That agreement established possession of a south-western portion of the property for Fumiko
and Takeo Yuge for their lifetimes. The School fully and completely honored the terms of the
agreement, which called for that portion of the property to return to the School upon the
Yuges passing.
This sentiment to retain the land as one parcel, one campus, has not changed. Now PWS has
the opportunity to fulfil the original intent of the 1987 agreement and the Schools founders by
reuniting and utilizing the entire property that it purchased 29 years ago.
***
Pasadena Waldorf School, founded in 1979, offers an inspired education to students from Early
Childhood (Parent-Child, Preschool, and Kindergarten) through Grade Twelve. Developed by
Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf Education is based on an understanding of human development
that addresses the needs of the growing child. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education
into an art that educates the whole childthe heart and the hands, as well as the head. With
over ninety years of experience and over 1000 schools worldwide, Waldorf education is one of
the worlds leading educational movements. Pasadena Waldorfs lower school has resided on
the historic Scripps Hall estate in beautiful Altadena, California for over 29 years while the high
school has a new home also located on a historic property in Altadena.
Sincerely,

Douglas Garrett
Business Administrator