PRESS RELEASE
Greg Krikorian, President, Glendale Unified School District
1807 W. Glenoaks Blvd., #205
Glendale, CA 91201
Tel: 818-240-7088
Fax: 818-240-7320
Email: gkrikorian@gusd.net

Krikorian Sets The Record Straight:

`Courageous Conversations’

This year, the California School Boards Association motto is
`Courageous Conversations’ for the sake of our children. This is a
sentiment with which I could not agree more, and I have continually
advocated for increased communication between our school board and our
city council to better serve our community.

It was in that spirit that I chose to address the city council on March
11, 2008, standing before the dais, representing the voices of
approximately 26,000 children to address a very serious issue affecting
schools – our state’s budget crisis and the impact on our schools.
The
lack of adequate funding for public education has had an adverse effect
on our students, teachers, and community. Our state ranks 46 out of 50
states in education funding; approximately $2000.00 below the national
average.

To clarify the utility issue, in June of 2006, our district launched a
district-wide energy conservation program with the help of Energy
Education Inc. Their numbers indicate that if the District had not
implemented the conservation program with the 21% increase in
utilities, the cost to the district would have increased approximately
$2,000,000.

As a result of the proposed state budget, GUSD Board of Education is
faced with a budget shortfall of $8.7 million next year, and we are
looking for creative ways to weather this storm, while protecting the
quality of our instruction. The School Board, administrators,
teachers, and classified staff have all worked to control expenses,
because legally school districts have little to no ability to generate
revenues. This puts the students in our schools in a precarious
position. In marked contrast, cities have multiple mechanisms to
increase revenue. Sources such as increased fees, the levying of
taxes, fines and municipal taxes give cities greater flexibility to
maintain services during difficult financial times.

Again, it was in the spirit of collaboration that I stood before you on
March 11 to request help with the rapidly increasing utility costs. It
appears that the Mayor and some council members have misunderstood my
intent. I was dismayed at the allegations levied at last week’s
council meeting and the unnecessary personal attacks.

As President of the GUSD Board of Education, it is my responsibility to
represent the interest of our schools, teachers and, most importantly,
our children. I would expect that our Mayor would accept nothing less
>From a president of the Board of Education since his children attend
Glendale schools.

It is very unfortunate that our Mayor has acted out in this fashion.
However, rather than dwell on personal issues and attacks, I implore
our Mayor and city council to move beyond personal attacks and politics
and focus on solutions. It is my hope and goal we get beyond this and
move forward as a community, working together for the betterment of our
children.

The Mayor has chosen to focus attention on the quality support our
community and schools receives from police, fire, and parks and
recreation departments. As a school District, we humbly thank the City
for these high quality services. Yet we believe that there may be
opportunities for additional support.

These are not meant to be outrageous or controversial ideas. Our
School District supports many city-sponsored and non-profit
organizations at little or no cost. We are happy to collaboratively
work with these organizations because of the positive impact on our
community.

We must find ways for our community and its leadership to truly
collaborate, communicate, and work together.

I had the opportunity of serving on the School Board for the past seven
years, serving as president for two terms. For the past 18 years, I
have been the beneficiary of many of the wonderful programs created by
our city, community organizations, and our school district, such as the
Kiwanis, Boy Scouts, Little League and AYSO. I consider myself a proud
citizen of Glendale.

Gregory S. Krikorian
President, Board of Education
Glendale Unified School District

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