Letter: Sagebrush transfer could be costly

Before popping the champagne to celebrate the transfer of Sagebrush into La Cañada Unified School District, let’s take a look at the economics of this move. LCUSD will have to pay Glendale Unified $6.5 million. Ask yourself, where is LCUSD going to find the funds when they just passed a $450 parcel tax increase just to fund a deficit in next school year’s budget? Next, Sagebrush property owners will pay $15 more (per $100K) in property taxes in addition to the new $450 parcel tax increase. Mind you, this is an additional tax that Sagebrush homeowners will be forced to pay even though they had no vote in the matter.

Fifteen dollars here, $450 there and pretty soon that adds up to some real significant money especially when the teacher’s union makes another demand for salary and benefit increases — which is every few years. Mountain Avenue Elementary, Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School provide comparable educational facilities as La Cañada. Are you sure you want to fix something that wasn’t broken?

Bob Tanabe
La Cañada Flintridge