La Cañada Unified School District Superintendent Wendy Sinnette said it is unclear when a meeting might take place between school district officials and the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization to discuss the possible transfer of the Sagebrush territory into the LCUSD. A scheduled June 5 meeting has been canceled.
A future meeting will likely also include an environmental impact report regarding that issue, Sinnette said at a Joint-Use Committee meeting held last week with Governing Board and LCF City Council officials.
“Everybody knows the last meeting [May 1] was canceled without much explanation,” Sinnette told attendees, noting that the next district organization meeting could be rescheduled in September.
Sinnette said that with a new GUSD superintendent, Vivian Ekchian, it could sway GUSD to “lean” toward the later September date in order to gather more information.
Sinnette said she had met a couple of times with Scott Tracy, a former LCUSD board member who supports the transfer, and he has provided some talking points for her and other district members for the next potential meeting.
“We’re in a good place to respond,” Sinnette said. “The petitioners are very anxious for it to be on the agenda. They’re tired of the delays.”
LCUSD and Glendale Unified School District officials will each have 20 minutes to discuss the territory transfer issue during the meeting at the county committee’s headquarters in Downey, Sinnette has said previously.
The Sagebrush student population is between 400 and 450. Currently, 215 students from the area attend LCUSD schools and about 190 study at three GUSD schools.
GUSD interim Superintendent Kelly King has previously said she had planned to present a number of reasons why the transfer should not happen.
“Primarily, there is no educational reason for this transfer,” King said. “GUSD offers students an exceptional education and wide-ranging programs to meet every student’s needs and interests.”
GUSD officials have also said the district would lose about $2.7 million because of a transfer, though UniteLCF — a group that includes Sagebrush residents who seek the transfer — disputes that figure. School districts receive state funding based on student attendance.
Margo Minecki, public information officer for the L.A. County Committee on School District Organization, said on Wednesday the regular meeting scheduled for June 5 had been canceled.
Meeting to Discuss Sagebrush Transfer on June 5 Canceled; No New Date Set
