Darleene Barrientos
Future joint projects, high school artificial turf and population
trends will be on the table for discussion Tuesday before the two
largest employers and property owners in Glendale.
It won't be the first time the City Council and the Glendale
Unified School District board members have met, but it will be the
first time they gather at the district's headquarters, 223 N. Jackson
St. The meeting is at 2:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
"We all share the same constituents, which is the kids. We like to
think we cooperate a great deal and we try to keep communications
open," City Manager Jim Starbird said. While a lot of the cooperation
happens at the staff level, "it's good for two boards to get together
to talk periodically," Starbird added.
The two agencies met earlier this year to talk about some of their
successful joint projects, like the Edison Elementary School/Pacific
Park Library complex. The 9.69-acre Edison-Pacific Park project was
opened last year, after $46 million and almost a decade of
construction.
Another project that is scheduled to break ground in April is the
Cerritos School Park, a $1.6 million joint-use park for residents
and the Glendale Unified School District. The park will be built on
the south side of Cerritos Elementary School, 120 E. Cerritos Ave.
"We want to talk about the successes we've had working together
and look at other opportunities to work together," Supt. Michael
Escalante said. "We're looking at other kinds of opportunities
adjacent to school sites."
Moreover, the district wants to discuss enlisting the help of the
city in improving what has already been built.
Over the next few years, the district is poised to receive
redevelopment money it needs to install artificial turf at Glendale
High School's Moyse Field, which is now part dirt, part grass.
"The district raised [the issue] some time ago, when [former Supt.
Jim Brown] was around, about need for artificial turf," Starbird
said. "There's a thought if the [redevelopment] agency and the city
were in a position to advance tax increments, the district staff was
looking at using that as a mechanism to enhance Moyse Field."
The meeting will also be a chance for the two agencies to discuss
common issues of concern, like the declining student population and
what the city's plan to hire 100 new police officers might mean for
the schools.
"The opportunity to have a two-way communication with city council
and the Board of Education presents an opportunity for both entities
to address similar challenges," board President Greg Krikorian said.
"We already have a strong working relationship ... Our time [to
meet] is limited, but what's important is that we have this
opportunity."
