There was a reshuffling of the cards at the latest Burbank Unified School Board meeting at city hall as Dr. Armond Aghakhanian was appointed president and Abby Pontzer Kamkar, vice president.
New member Laurette Cano, Dr. Emily Weisberg, who is the clerk, and Aghakhanian all took the oath of office.
“I’m a holistic thinker and I want to continue academic excellence and fiscal responsibility,” Aghakhanian said. “I want to focus on mental health resources, career technology courses and partnerships are important.”
Aghakhanian, whose parents were both teachers, stressed, “I don’t like drama, and I don’t like gossip,” he added. “I’m here to do a job. Students are the top priority.”
Aghakhanian went on: “I think that we need to celebrate our achievements,” he noted.
Former BUSD president, Weisberg said that these are challenging times, but also critical times.
“This is an important time to be BUSD president. There is a lot of push back, but I couldn’t have been with a better group of people,” she said. “The priorities are students.”
Superintendent Dr. John Paramo, who has been in this position for 18 months, also spoke about the importance of his job.
“I serve proudly. It’s been challenging. This job is not for wimps,” he said. “[Dr. Weisberg] always said the right things to pick me up. The board has been in sync with what’s best for the kids.”
Pontzer Kamkar also spoke. “I look forward to working with Dr. Aghakhanian and Dr. Paramo,” she said.
The results of the November 5 election, in which candidates vied for three open seats on the Board of Education, the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Recorder’s Office verified the following results:
Trustee Area No. 1, Cano received 5,673 votes for 59.62 percent while Dr. Thomas G. Crowther received 3,843 votes for 40.38 percent.
Trustee Area No. 2, Weisberg ran unopposed and in Trustee Area No. 5, Aghakhanian received 5,132 votes for 58.86 percent and Annie B. Markarian received 3,587 votes for 41.14 percent.
“I am deeply grateful for the trust they have in me,” Aghakhanian said. “The board will be transparent, and it will make a difference for our students.”
Assistant Superintendent Andrew Cantwell spoke about the upcoming budget. “The good news is that the bad news didn’t get worse,” he said.
Only one student representative was present, Burroughs High’s Lauren Nestor, and she talked about the upcoming Associated Student Body Holiday Spirit Week Festivities.
