From Superintendent Dr. Darneika Watson:

As you may recall, back in 2016 a group of residents from the territory known as Sagebrush submitted a petition to transfer students living in the Sagebrush area from GUSD to La Cañada Unified School District (LCUSD). In October 2019, the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization voted to approve this petition and redraw the GUSD and LCUSD boundaries.

GUSD appealed the decision to the California State Board of Education (SBE). After several years of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBE is scheduled to consider our appeal at their meeting this Thursday, Jan. 18. I, along with Board President Jennifer Freemon, Board Member Ingrid Gunnell and several GUSD staff members, will attend this meeting and advocate for the SBE to reverse the County Committee’s decision and keep the Sagebrush territory in GUSD. 

If you would like to submit a comment to the SBE in support of GUSD’s appeal, you can do the following:

1. Visit the SBE Public Comments Form
2. Enter your name and email address
3. For “Agenda Item,” select Item 19 – Appeal of an Action of the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization to… 
4. For “Position on the Matter,” select Support
5. Enter your comment. Use the header: Support GUSD Appeal & Oppose Territory Transfer

Should the SBE deny GUSD’s appeal and approve the territory transfer petition, the transfer must then be approved by a community vote in order to be finalized. The SBE will determine which members of the GUSD and LCUSD communities will be eligible to vote on the territory transfer. We are advocating strongly for every member of our GUSD community to be included in this vote.

In GUSD, we remain committed to providing an exceptional education that prepares our youth for success in college, career, and life. We want every student to find their passion and feel a sense of belonging in our schools. In addition to rigorous instruction we proudly offer a wide range of dual immersion, visual and performing arts, athletics, science and technology and Career and Technical Education programs, many of which are open to students living in and outside our district boundaries. Regardless of the eventual outcome of the territory transfer, every student and family will continue to be welcome in GUSD schools.