GUSD is Being Targeted

Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) has become a target of extremists aiming to reshape public schools. Led by failed city council candidate Jordan Henry, these extremists have been fueling controversy since 2020, protesting mask mandates, distance learning and vaccine requirements. Henry, a newcomer to Glendale with no children in the district, has gained support from outside groups and used various platforms to promote right-wing agendas. His attacks on GUSD curricula, particularly SPLC Learning For Justice, have intensified, with a focus on opposing diversity, inclusion and LGBTQ-inclusive programs. Henry employs tactics like public records requests and encourages parents to withdraw students from public schools. Violent incidents involving his supporters have occurred at board meetings. The recent June 6 meeting attracted anti-LGBTQ activists, right-wing extremists and hate groups, resulting in arrests and clashes. These extremist efforts aim to undermine public education, and it is crucial to reject their divisive views and support equitable education for all. More information can be found at https://www.therealjordanhenry.com or https://socalextremismwatch.com/glendale-unified/.

Burt Culver
Montrose

Comments Offered on Traffic Survey

I recently completed the LA County’s street traffic survey. The survey included good questions; however, did not provide an opportunity for comments. I’d like to comment here.

There have been at least six occasions over the past 30 years when concerns raised by residents concerning traffic safety throughout our neighborhoods, and especially around our schools, have been brought to the County’s attention. The responses to these concerns have always been the placement of speed-monitoring trailers and stepped up enforcement by Highway Patrol. While these two elements are important in helping to create a safer street environment, they have obviously been insufficient in resolving the problem. What the County should additionally consider are strategic structural modifications to our streets that can aid in calming traffic.

A holistic draft plan that includes enforcement, education and engineering should be developed by the County planners and engineers (or consultants) that include all relevant data. The benefits as well of trade-offs due to modifications should be backed up by currently accepted statistical analysis. While there are many residents with grave concerns about traffic safety around our schools, there are also members of our community who are concerned that any street modifications may negatively impact their mobility. While these concerns may be warranted, their merit should be assessed based upon real data. They also need to be considered within the context of true safety in our community and on our streets.

Paul Rabinov
La Crescenta

Critical of CVWD Methods

The unprincipled, unethical, poor values CVWD board members and general manager approved going where they have no business – to be charging us on our property tax bill!

You can opt out and pay it on your own, but only a few of us will be doing that as I know most of the community is uninformed and charges will be on their property tax bill.

It’s sad to see the dominant attitude of the community, in the high 90 percentile, thinking this is wrong and having all five board members plus the general manager vote yes to approve this property tax implementation with total disregard to the sentiment of the community.

We all went away [from the June 27 meeting] feeling as though we wasted our time in the recent two long meetings – all for nothing.

We were right: they have no business touching our tax bill. 

The last 30 years that I’ve lived in La Crescenta I’ve been charged for the same exact things: infrastructure, distribution system and new pipes and have always been charged on my water bill. 

CVWD has violated its customers.

The best idea I heard at the meeting was CVWD should be taken over by another water agency and cut out all of the exorbitant costs paid to general manager and others (example $22,000 a month).

I would love paying all these people good money if I felt they did a good job, but that’s not the case.

Michael Chonos
Montrose 

We Demand Transparency

After attending the CVWD public meeting with CVWD and the board of directors on June 13 I feel like cellophane. During the meeting there was no interaction between CVWD, its board of directors and many concerned customers. They

taped our concerns and questions and indicated they would respond later. A week later they published an ill-prepared response that really hasn’t answered customer questions.

At the board of directors meeting on June 27 the district anticipated a crowd by [providing] chairs; however CVWD conveniently forgot lights, water (except for board members) or microphones, making it impossible to hear customers or the board members’ conversation. The only thing I kept hearing was a rude board president banging her gavel and warning that she would clear the crowd if they spoke out of turn.

The board did what they had previously and unanimously planned by imposing a new capital charge. Although modified, CVWD also retains the option to raise the charge to the original $404.30 per year without any further public input. Director Johnson was the only director providing a logical explanation of the situation while the other board members remained basically silent. I believe the board planned not to respond to the public as repeated by the board president stating it was their board meeting and not a public meeting.

In 2020/2021 CVWD had a community advisory board. It was mysteriously terminated by the CVWD board of directors. Maybe the advisory board asked some embarrassing questions about infrastructure and accountability?

During that timeframe, CVWD and the board had discussed and outlined various options including issuing bonds as interest rates were at an all-time low. They procrastinated and figured a 3-year annual 8% increase would work and, in the end, blew it.

Now customers will be paying the 8% increase and paying higher interest on any bonds as well as a new capital charge.

Where has the infrastructure money gone? Where will our capital charge revenue go? I don’t really want to see line items that employees are buying $282 boots from Boot Barn about every 90 days or payments going to Pandora radio. We want to see a plan that is easily quantifiable addressing infrastructure and pipe replacement.

We refuse to remain silent. We want transparency.

It is your turn, CVWD, to answer your customers. I would like to see CVWD and CVWD board of directors respond to our concerns published in the CV Weekly and posted on Nextdoor as well as your website of a clear path forward.

We are waiting.

Jonas Williams
La Crescenta