La Cañada Unified balks at cost of Sagebrush transfer

Glendale school officials were caught off guard Wednesday when they learned La Cañada Unified officials are no longer willing to discuss the financial aspects of negotiations tied to potentially transferring the Sagebrush territory from Glendale Unified’s boundaries.

--
FOR THE RECORD: 10/30/14, 10:39 a.m. In an earlier version of this story, it was stated that negotiations were to transfer the Sagebrush territory into Glendale Unified’s boundaries. The negotations would transfer Sagebrush from Glendale Unified to La Cañada.
--

In a statement La Cañada Unified Supt. Wendy Sinnette sent the La Cañada Valley Sun on Wednesday, she wrote that her school district “has determined that a negotiated agreement between the two school districts, in light of the currently anticipated proposal by [Glendale Unified School District], is not presently achievable.”

Sinnette also wrote her school district’s “role in financial aspects of the settlement agreement has been exhausted.”

Even though La Cañada school officials appear to be backing out of negotiations, Glendale school officials still plan to vote on their proposed terms for the transfer on Nov. 4, said Glendale Unified Supt. Dick Sheehan.

“We have the debate set up for Tuesday at our board meeting,” Sheehan said. “I see us continuing with that. We’ll still continue our process and present them with a proposal and wait on their response.”

If approved, the proposal is expected to be presented to La Cañada school officials on Nov. 10.

“I would have preferred them to wait for a proposal,” Sheehan said.

On Oct. 21, the Glendale school board discussed seeking $6.8 million from La Cañada Unified in compensation for outstanding Sagebrush debt tied to Measure S and K school bonds.

Additionally, Glendale board members would seek $3,600 annually for 12 years for every student lost to La Cañada Unified in the transfer — half of what the district receives for each student from the state.

Assuming 235 Sagebrush students transferred, La Cañada would pay $10.15 million, in addition to the bond compensation amount. However, one Glendale Unified estimate sets the transferred-student count as high as 350.

Combined, the amount for lost student revenue and bond dollars adds up to $17 million.

“This dramatic increase in the price of the transfer has led [La Cañada Unified] to the conclusion that it needs to step aside with regard to any future financial settlement discussions,” Sinnette stated in her letter, adding that the $10 million in lost student revenue far exceeds what the district’s budget can handle.

Glendale school board members supported their proposal on Oct. 21, saying it was fair to both school districts.

“If you look at what we offered, it protects both districts… We truly, we know we did our due diligence as a board,” said Greg Krikorian, school board president, on Wednesday.“

“In the long run, they’d be reaping all the benefits from this,” Krikorian added. “In the short term, it gives our district time to financially weather this change… If they can’t afford to support us in this transition, we can’t afford to give it up.”

La Cañada school board President Ellen Multari said during a La Cañada school board meeting on Tuesday that an agreement no longer seemed probable.

“We felt that there was a lot of effort between both districts, a lot of interest in both districts to reach something that was workable between the two districts,” she said. “At this time, that number has increased by more than $10 million, and it’s simply not within our financial means or [those] of the city to reach that kind of deal.”

On Wednesday, after hearing that Sinnette had sent the statement , school board member Christine Walters said Glendale school officials had not received any communication from La Cañada school officials about Glendale’s proposal or the status of current negotiations.

“We have had no official communication at all. As far as we know, we’re still continuing at this point,” she said.