Glendale Unified hits pause on earmarking remaining Measure S dollars
Measure S funds helped pay for the new College View School. The Glendale Unified School District has put on hold talks about what to do with the remaining bond money.
Four years after Glendale voters approved the passage of a $270-million school bond, district officials have upgraded campuses, technology and security measures and have earmarked or spent more than half of the funds.
What they haven’t yet spent or set aside — $90 million in Measure S funds and $14 million from other facility funds — will be up for debate. But not right now.
During a recent Glendale Unified school board meeting, members weighed crafting a master plan. But after nearly an hour’s discussion, the group opted to take a step back, citing their current search for a new superintendent and the creation of voting districts.
Those issues, among others, are what prompted school board member Nayiri Nahabedian to suggest taking “a pause” when it comes to establishing a new plan for the remaining money, she said.
“I really would like to pause just a little bit. I love Measure S and I’m happy we passed it. It has taken a lot of our energies, and it’s a good thing. On our board agenda, almost every time, there’s Measure S. It should be there. But there isn’t, almost every time, something that says, you know, ‘How well our kids are doing this week.’ Inevitably, our attention is focused, and rightly so. If there’s any opportunity to pause, I’d like to pause, and pick this up when we must pick it up.”
Other school board members agreed, including Jennifer Freemon and Christine Walters, who asked staff to provide a comprehensive list of facilities goals that have already been met before they return to the table for more discussions.
After the bond passed in 2011, officials created five categories for spending bond and facilities dollars.
They have allotted much of it to upgrading security at school sites, improving the auditoriums, cafeterias and athletic fields, and making technology upgrades.
The district has also spent around $25 million to demolish and entirely rebuild its College View School — a campus serving severely disabled students.
School officials set aside about $15 million for technology upgrades, including $1.7 million to upgrade the district’s data center.
Another $12 million was set aside for the district’s new aquatics center, set to be built at Glendale High School.
About $3 million has been set aside for security upgrades involving the installation of security cameras at all 30 schools.
Millions more have gone toward installing solar panels across the district and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on replacing heating and air conditioning units.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
