La Cañada Unified School District Governing Board member Joe Radabaugh said recently he was hopeful a meeting could occur soon between district officials and a key countywide committee to discuss a possible transfer of the Sagebrush territory into the LCUSD in the fall.
However, that panel — the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization — has since canceled its meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 7, and its next meeting is set for Sept. 4. On Tuesday, committee public information officer Margo Minecki said in an email that a date for a Sagebrush vote has not been confirmed.
“The earliest [the meeting could be] is September,” said Radabaugh, who spoke at a July 25 Joint Use Committee meeting that included Governing Board and La Cañada Flintridge City Council representaion. LCUSD Superintendent Wendy Sinnette, who usually makes the presentation on Sagebrush-related topics, was on vacation, he added.
Residents of Sagebrush, in the western part of LCF, long have sought to be included in the LCUSD rather than in the Glendale Unified School District, which opposes such a transfer. The LCUSD supports the residents’ efforts.
The Joint Use Committee meeting did not have enough committee members to make up a quorum, as Radabaugh and LCF Councilwoman Terry Walker were the only elected officials in attendance. City and school staff members made only nonvoting presentations.
Other updates given at the meeting:
• A resurfacing of the Cornishon Avenue tennis courts, which had not been repaired in 25 years, is on track. The school district is sharing the cost with the city (each are spending $62,500), which is handling the bid and paying the same cost. LCF division manager Arabo Parseghian said after the meeting that he and the district’s chief business and operations officer, Mark Evans, met with a contractor to work on a construction schedule and were waiting to receive that timetable.
• Pickleball, a relatively new sport that uses elements of tennis, ping-pong and badminton, is moving closer to becoming a reality in LCF. Parseghian said he was scheduled to meet with Evans to determine a schedule for when the basketball courts next to the skate park on Cornishon could be converted into a temporary court, using tape and a movable fence. “It would not have any impact on the basketball court,” Parseghian said. In response to a question, Parseghian said people have waited in line to use pickleball courts elsewhere and that it’s a “pretty popular sport.” He added that the city of Burbank was working on putting in a new pickleball court.
• Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Todd Deeds said in response to a comment that he felt it was beneficial to have a Sheriff’s Department “presence” monitoring bus stops and education campuses during the first two weeks of the upcoming school year. “Foothill [Boulevard] into the high school can be chaos,” Radabaugh told the newcomer to the local station. “You may want to familiarize yourself with it. The first two weeks there are new people and everyone coming at the same time.”
Schools Leader Seeks Meeting Over Possible Sagebrush Transfer
