» ELECTIONS 2020

By Mary O’KEEFE

For the first time in the election history of Glendale Unified School District and Glendale Community College board of trustees there will be district elections. In the past, voting was at large, meaning that voters in the specific city/area could vote for any elected seat. Election by-district means a large area is divided into specific geographic districts. Voters then vote for the candidate running in their specific district.

There are three candidates running for the Trustee Area A of Glendale Unified School District board of education, which covers Crescenta Valley area schools. Vying for votes are Jennifer Freemon, who presently sits on the board, Jeremy Spurley and Joy McCreary.

CVW conducted interviews with each candidate and during those interviews found there are specific issues that affect the Crescenta Valley area schools. In this article we will share information on those issues and then next week will share the candidate interviews.

There are many issues the next GUSD board of education will be facing and below are the few CVW focused on during the interviews.

Sagebrush

The far west area of La Cañada Flintridge is known as Sagebrush. It is a residential area of La Cañada whose students attend GUSD schools – Mountain Avenue Elementary, Rosemont Middle and Crescenta Valley High or Clark Magnet High schools.

Years ago, Unite La Cañada Flintridge, formed by residents of La Cañada Flintridge, petitioned the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization for a territorial transfer. In October 2019, the Committee voted to accept the petition. The GUSD school board unanimously voted to file an appeal against the decision. According to the California Environmental Quality Act study, which was commissioned by the county committee in 2017 after it gave preliminary approval to the transfer, about 151 to 355 students could transfer out of GUSD’s Mountain Avenue, Rosemont Middle and Crescenta Valley High schools. The district could lose at least $2 million annually in state funding, according to the most recent estimates from Stephen Dickinson, chief business and financial officer at GUSD at the time of the decision.

The appeal could take two to three years to be heard. There is also the issue of who will vote on the decision, because it will come back to the districts. Although it affects the districts in their entirety, it has not been decided who will vote on the matter: just those directly affected, like Mountain Avenue Elementary School families, or should voters be included who live in the areas of Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School? Should all of La Cañada Flintridge be included? These are the questions that still linger.

Late Start

California school districts have the next three years to determine how they will adjust to implement the new late start law. SB328, sponsored by Senator Anthony Portantino, was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2019. This law states that beginning in the 2022-23 school year, middle schools start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Middle schools are already in compliance with this law but high school schedules will have to be adjusted. This goes to the budget and it has yet to be determined how it will affect GUSD.

School Safety

School safety and mental health support for students has taken center stage in many districts. School violence and suicide rates are being watched throughout the nation and that concern affects GUSD as well. In October 2019 there were two lockdowns at CVHS. One was due to a parent who appeared to be violent and the other was when a JROTC cadet jumped the school fence carrying his replica rifle that was made of wood. A witness contacted the school stating s/he saw a kid with a gun jump the fence and, in an abundance of caution, the school went into lockdown. It was later found there was no threat but demonstrates the heightened awareness of school violence and the importance of being proactive.

Mental Health

There have been suicides and accidental deaths of students in the Crescenta Valley area. Tragedies affect all schools; however, due to the very public suicide by student Drew Ferraro on the CVHS campus in 2012 the community is hyper-aware of this issue. In addition gun violence has become part of the school conversation when it comes to making students feel safe. According to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks mass shootings within the U.S., there were 417 mass shootings in the U.S. by the end of 2019. This number has increased steadily in the last six years.

This fear is part of students’ everyday life and is being examined by both the district board and individual schools when instituting proactive drills and mental health programing.

In the Jan. 30 issue of CVW, we will present how the GUSD candidates are grappling with these concerns.

  Mary Okeefe