Glendale News-Press
LATimes.com
April 20 2004

A day of firsts for school board

Krikorian to become the first Armenian American president of GUSD
board under new rotation.

By Gary Moskowitz, News-Press

NORTHEAST GLENDALE – Greg Krikorian will become president of
Glendale’s school board today, making him the first Armenian American
to hold the position.

Krikorian was elected as a board member in 2001 and is the vice
president. Because the board changes its officers based on a rotation
policy, Krikorian will move into the president’s seat and replace Pam
Ellis during the board meeting.

According to the rotation policy, Ellis, who has been a board member
since 1995, would become a board member and board Clerk Mary Boger
would become the board’s vice president. Board member Lina Harper
would become the board’s clerk. Chuck Sambar would remain a board
member.

However, nothing is set in stone until the final board vote and
approval at Tuesday’s meeting, officials said.

“I am excited,” Krikorian said. “I want to get a good grasp of our
budget challenge, strengthen our district staffing and our programs
to make us the shining light of Southern California, so all parents
would want to move their kids into our city. When we look at these
budget challenges, it’s not just teacher-to-student ratios, but it’s
classified employees, custodians, everyone. We are one big family.

“One thing I’d like to implement this year is to give a State of the
Schools address once a year to give the status of our schools to the
community. I want to strengthen our communications with the
community,” Krikorian said.

The Board of Education had for years decided who its officers would
be based on vague descriptions of a rotation policy that in practice
allowed board members to nominate, vote for and elect its officers,
based on a majority vote in a public meeting.

But that changed in April 2003, when board members voted 3-2 in favor
of writing an official rotation policy into the board’s bylaws.

Boger and Harper voted against the policy, but the board accepted the
rotation policy and other board bylaws in June.

Ellis said that board members, at Tuesday’s meeting, have to readopt
the policy that allows the rotation policy to happen.