Reminder of the Importance to Vote

Thank you, Robin Goldsworthy, for sharing the importance of getting out to vote in the March election. [CV Weekly, Feb. 15, 2024] Our GUSD school board races in Areas A and E hold critical importance for the future of our school district.

She writes that it’s important to “get to know the candidates” in this election. That has never been so important than this current election. For starters, I urge voters to read the candidates’ responses to questions in this newspaper and other local media.

For example, when some candidates claim that GUSD’s tests scores are dropping and that this is indicative of the school district emphasizing mental health over academic achievement, do some research to find out how GUSD students’ test scores on state tests in math and English have actually remained relatively constant since 2015, or how GUSD students’ math test scores for 3rd-8th graders remained constant during COVID while the majority of students in other districts across the nation saw their scores fall.

Or when some candidates claim that socio-emotional learning and health shouldn’t take precedence over academic learning, ask your nearest GUSD teacher whether such a neat binary actually exists in the classroom. The truth is that students don’t learn academics well if they are struggling with mental health or other serious social-emotional issues, and that our schools must support the whole child.

Please take the time to learn about the candidates who are looking to sit on the GUSD school board for potentially years to come. 

We need school board members with experience in education and in our GUSD schools and larger community who value the experiences of all children and who will not push out inflammatory statements on social media, demonize educators and bring animus and intolerance to our community.

Chris Davis
Glendale

Chris Davis has taught in GUSD schools since 1991, with most of those years at Rosemont Middle School, Clark Magnet High School and Crescenta Valley High School. He is a past Glendale Teachers Association president.

Taking a Stand to Promote Local Schools and District

We are politically diverse moms, dads, friends and neighbors from La Crescenta and across Glendale taking a moment before another busy day to express our full support for the brave statements made by Ms. Goldsworthy in her recent From the Desk of the Publisher column (Feb. 15).

Ms. Goldsworthy’s observations regarding the quality of Glendale Unified Schools match our own personal experiences. While the district is by no means perfect, the truth is this: the teachers, administrators and staff of GUSD are deeply invested in providing a nurturing, enriching and academically challenging environment for all. Whether we have children or not, our schools are the bedrock of our community and the lies and disinformation told about our district from dishonest political candidates like Jordan Henry hurt and demean not just GUSD, but all of La Crescenta and Glendale. The falsehoods, threats and even violence that Mr. Henry brings with him have activated our community like never before and we are steadfast in our resolve to safeguard our schools, our homes and our kids from this chaos.  

We are proud to voice our support for Telly Tse in the upcoming school board election on March 5. In addition to his outstanding qualifications as a special education teacher, Telly embodies the values we want to see in our own neighborhoods: those of kindness, inclusion and care for one another. He has an established legacy of community involvement and the community will reflect this on Election Day.  

But regardless of the electoral outcome, we will continue to advocate for the betterment of GUSD for all. We have become very aware of just how hard we have to work to protect our schools from those [who] want to tear them down. 

Thank you, Ms. Goldsworthy, and check out gusdparents.org for more information. Vote today!

Editorial Provides Clarification

Thank you, CV Weekly, for your editorial re: Jordan Henry [From the Desk of the Publisher, Feb. 15]. I’ve been following his candidacy but thought perhaps my impression was mistaken after seeing so many yard signs endorsing him. You clarified the issues for me and reaffirmed my belief that he is not the right person for our school board.  

The CV Weekly did considerable research trying to ascertain if in fact Mr. Henry’s statements regarding classes that were allegedly being taught in GUSD schools were accurate. There was no such instruction found within the district.

The Weekly did not stop there, but rather contacted Mr. Henry and asked him to bring proof of such instruction taking place and the CVW would gladly print the information. There was no follow up from the candidate. No proof was ever forthcoming. We can only assume that the allegations were erroneous and we can ask ourselves, “For what purpose?”

Facts, not perceptions, should be the basis of who we cast our vote for. Thank you, CV Weekly, for delving into this issue that is crucial to our children’s education. Hopefully other constituents will also decide that their vote belongs elsewhere.

Eleanor Wacker
La Crescenta  

Proposing Solutions On Mental Health/Housing 



The text of Proposition 1 on the March ballot is fascinating. “One in 20 adults in CA is living with a serious mental illness” “One in 13 children in CA has a serious emotional disturbance.” 82% of homeless Californians reported experiencing a serious mental health condition and 65% of them were regular users of illicit drugs at some point in their lives. 

In Glendale, the annual count of homeless, according to its Annual Homeless Count report, indicates that at any one time there are about 90 homeless and unsheltered persons. 80% of Glendale homeless come from outside city borders, according to the staff of homeless services in Glendale. Of those, 11 declared that it was due to rent increases. The trajectory to homelessness has a few salient causes … domestic violence being a major one for women and children.

Mental health issues can cause a trajectory from losing a job, then not paying rent, followed by losing shelter from family members, losing shelter from friends’ homes, to winding up on the street. The City of Glendale has made great strides in creating a viable department that studies and acts on homeless issues, but the source of the problem is clear from the data of the two documents I’ve relied on here. Homelessness is primarily a mental health issue. Domestic violence, drug dependency and mental illness are the drivers that eventually lead to homelessness.

The narrative so popular with candidates during elections – that rent increases cause homelessness – is simply not supported by the data, at least not supported in Glendale. Not when 80% of the homeless come into the city from elsewhere. Not when a statewide initiative confirms the real source of the problem.

A yes vote on Prop 1 is a necessity and places the focus where it belongs. Prop 1 also addresses affordable housing to the most in need.

Herbert Molano
Glendale

Advocates for LGBTQ+ Students

I am a 25-year educator in the GUSD and a visible advocate for LGBTQ+ students. Since 2021, opportunistic strangers have created a caricature of me and fellow local educators broadcasting defamatory lies to tens of thousands of people amidst their campaign of terror in our community. I am now and will continue to be okay.

But will our kids?

Nex Benedict, a 15-year-old non-binary student at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, was bullied for months before being brutally assaulted in a school restroom on Feb. 7. Nex died the next day.

This assault did not happen in a vacuum. Starting in 2022, anti-LGBTQ+ extremists began ruthless attacks via social media on a staff member of Owasso High School who spoke out in support of LGBTQ+ students. Members of the Owasso school community acknowledge that the fear and hate these outside forces directed toward their school scared students and allies and emboldened those with preexisting prejudiced views.

The parallels between Owasso and Glendale are terrifying. On my own campus this year, our GSA (Gender-Sexuality Alliance) officers noted some decline in participation at our annual Solidarity Week activities. When asked why this may have been our GSA president immediately replied, “Students are more scared. The hate-filled language by adults in the public meetings is trickling into school.”

In Owasso, these exact same tactics ended in the death of a child.

This cannot be repeated. The faces of this hate campaign in Glendale running for office are largely supported by people who do not live in this community. They do not know who we are. On or before March 5, it is imperative we elect Telly Tse and Neda Farid to the GUSD school board. They stand in allyship with all children and families in our community. 

Alicia Harris
Sherman Oaks

Counters Letter Writer

In a letter to the editor (Feb. 22, “Not a Swastika”), Mr. Shelton asserts: “Transgenderism falsely holds that individuals can change their biological gender.”

No, trans people do not believe that. Trans people have never once promoted the idea that individuals can change their biological gender.

Never.

Ever.

“Biological gender” does not exist. There is no such thing.

Sex is biological.

Gender is social.

Mr. Shelton goes on to observe, “Both Nazism and transgender ideology seek to silence their opponents by any means necessary – including violence.”

To suggest that trans people “seek to silence their opponents by any means necessary – including violence” is an outlandish assertion with no basis in fact. What this assertion does do, however, is to remind us that blatant lies such as this are disconcertingly common in today’s discourse. Unfortunately, these lies have resulted in the normalization of such lies.

DeAnn Morris
Tujunga

Stresses the Importance of Voting

We have an important local election coming up in March.

I, for one, am quite concerned about voter turnout in our 91214 zip code area. A reliable source has advised me that in past local elections only 20% to 25% of registered voters voted in zip code 91214.

The percentage of registered voters voting in a Presidential year rose to only about 60%.

We have quite a number of local candidates for various positions on the ballot this March. They all have invested time, money and efforts in educating us voters as to why we should vote for them. As voters we owe them the obligation to listen to them, see if their values align with yours, check their qualification(s) and vote for whomever you feel will serve our community the best.

I am not going to tell anyone who to vote for. That is an individual decision. However, I will tell anyone and every one to vote; come on 91214! Let’s get that 100% turnout.

I plan on voting March 5. I hope you will join me.

Joe Kroening
La Crescenta