Glendale ups price for Sagebrush to $23M

It will cost La Cañada about $23 million to have the Sagebrush area under that city’s primary school district’s control, the Glendale Unified school board voted Tuesday.

The proposal, agreed to unanimously, is a significant increase to the $17 million figure discussed late last month. In the newest iteration, La Cañada would pay $6.8 million in debt service to two Glendale school bonds as well as $16 million in expected reductions in state funding due to decreased enrollment.

Officials from La Cañada, who are scheduled to discuss the offer later this week, could not be immediately reached for comment.

On Oct. 29, however, La Cañada Unified Supt. Wendy Sinnette publicly rejected an earlier estimate of about $17 million, saying her district could not afford the cost.

Glendale school officials voted 4-0 in favor of the deal following passionate public comments on both sides of the issue. Board member Sandy Russell, a Sagebrush resident, abstained under the direction of Glendale’s attorneys, who cited a potential conflict of interest.

The proposal asks for La Cañada Unified to pay Glendale Unified $16,050,738 over a 12-year period to make up the loss of student revenue.

It assumes a 3% increase in state per-pupil funding per year and asks for half of the compensation of what Glendale officials calculate would have been paid by the state to serve the Sagebrush students.

Glendale Unified Supt. Dick Sheehan described the $16 million anticipated loss as the “worst case scenario” as half of the $32 million the district would lose during that period.

“I was a little disappointed that the letter did come out from Ms. Sinnette,” he said. “We still have a very good working relationship with La Cañada and plan on maintaining a good strong working relationship as we move through this…but as a district we need to continue our process.”

The proposal also asks La Cañada to pay $6.8 million for bond debt tied to the Measure K and Measure S bonds, in addition to splitting special education costs over a period of six years.

Glendale school board President Greg Krikorian said the proposal was fair.

“This keeps our district financially responsible and solvent,” he said. “Fourteen years from now, we’re not going to have that revenue. It’s gone.”

Fellow board member Armina Gharpetian agreed. “We don’t want to be the district who loses the money because of the transfer. When this is done, cannot go back and say…we made a mistake.”

Check out a timeline of the Sagebrush issue, a part of our new Infographics page: