Krikorian announces reelection bid for Glendale Unified School Board

The longest serving member of the Glendale Unified School Board announced on Wednesday he’ll run this spring to keep his seat in the first election in which Glendale voters will choose board members based on where they live.

Glendale Unified has been divided into five voting districts. Previously residents voted for candidates no matter where they lived in the school district.

Greg Krikorian will run to represent District B, located in the western part of the city, where current school board member Christine Walters also resides. However, Walters has said she won’t seek reelection this spring.

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Her departure, which Krikorian said will bring “a big loss” to the board, was one of the factors that led him to want to run for a post he’s held since 2001.

“Having some stability is important to the families and the district itself,” he said. “I think [there are] a lot of areas where we’re going to need a steady hand and a steady leader to address these challenges to maintain our public schools.”

As his friends and Glendale parents encouraged him to seek reelection, he also wasn’t ready to step away from the challenges and excitement that come with governing a school district with 26,000 students and the many decisions surrounding spending.

“I’m still learning. I’m still gaining more knowledge,” he said.

A recent budget report showed that Glendale Unified is still spending more money than it brings in, as officials reported $275 million in revenue and more than $284 million in expenditures.

The structural deficit is just one challenge ahead for the board, he said.

Krikorian said he is also proud of some strides the district has made to improve students’ access to technology and to harness solar power at a majority of its 30 schools to cut costs.

“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “We still have work to do.”

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan

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