By Charly SHELTON

La Cañada Unified School District Board of Education President Andrew Blumenfeld presided over his last Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. Blumenfeld’s term of four years ended and new board member Brent Kuszyk was installed on the board. With Blumenfeld’s departure, members of the board fondly reminisced and sent him along with best wishes in his future endeavors.

“He’s a man of great vision but that vision is grounded in his intelligence and his actions,” said Superintendent Wendy Sinnette. “He is kind and compassionate but given that kindness and compassionate nature, he is a person of exceptional integrity and he holds incredibly high standards. He’s committed to our community and his leadership on the board has made a marked difference. I’ve had the privilege to work with him and we are all indebted to him for his exemplary service.”

Blumenfeld, who was elected to the position at 20 years old, has served on the board and shown his dedication in dealing with issues such as Common Core and the Sagebrush dispute.

“I think if you would ask me just four months before I ran for this position whether I would do so I would’ve found the idea pretty silly,” Blumenfeld said. “I was in my second year of college, 3000 miles away, and to be honest I was still feeling just fine about having stepped away from this place we lovingly and also frustratingly call ‘the bubble.’ But four years later, being a part of this team, a member of this board and filling this role in a community that I love, it feels so natural and like such an indelible part of who I am that in retrospect the decision to pursue it seems almost obvious.”

Blumenfeld decided not to run for a second term in order to be available to run for state assembly. Mike Gatto’s seat will be coming available next November and Blumenfeld plans to run for that seat. His campaign platform will “definitely be a big focus on education, no surprise there I’m sure,” said Blumenfeld.

His fellow Board of Education members said they were sad to see him go but they believe that Blumenfeld has what it takes to be a leader in his run for state assembly.

“Some people, when he was elected at 20, thought that was way too young but it’s not,” said Sinnette. “He has wisdom, vision and just the makeup of a leader that provides guidance and exceptional talent to whatever he endeavors to do.”

  Charly Shelton