BURBANK SEEKS TO FILL INTERIM SCHOOLS SEAT ASSEMBLYMAN-ELECT LEAVING.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

BURBANK -- Burbank Unified Superintendent Greg Bowman will recommend appointing an interim replacement for school board member Paul Krekorian, who was elected Tuesday to the state Assembly.

Bowman said the other options -- to do nothing or to hold a special election -- would be impractical. Elections for three seats, including Krekorian's, begin with the Feb. 27 primary, with a run-off scheduled for April 10.

``My recommendation is for the board to appoint a provisional appointee,'' Bowman said.

The four remaining school board members will consider their options at a Nov. 16 meeting. If they decide to appoint a replacement -- who would serve from Dec. 31 to April 30, the gap between Krekorian's departure and when the newly elected board member would be sworn in -- they would decide from a pool of prospective candidates.

Interested residents would have 30 days to apply for the post.

Democrat Krekorian, 46, faced little serious competition and won the 43rd Assembly District seat held by termed-out Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, with 62.9 percent Tuesday. He will be sworn into office Dec. 4.

Wasting no time, Krekorian met Thursday with members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

``We haven't had a chance to get much rest,'' he said in a phone interview from Sacramento. ``I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to get to know our new colleagues better and to find a common vision to make the future better for California.''

Krekorian was elected with Dave Kemp and Ted Bunch to the Burbank Unified board in 2003, when the district was saddled with a $3 million budget deficit and the ouster of a popular superintendent outraged parents and staff.

The trio engaged in a series of belt-tightening changes to return the district to solvency.

``We had to make some major cuts to make the school district solvent, and that's a major accomplishment,'' said Ted Bunch, BUSD's board president. ``Thanks to (Krekorian's) leadership along with the rest of us, we have as fine ... a staff that you could possibly have. We will miss him.''

Krekorian said he didn't want to part with his school board colleagues, but he believes he could also do good in Sacramento.

``I'm going to be sad to leave that, but this position is going to allow me to do the same work and affect that positive change on a different level.''

Bowman believes Krekorian will make education his issue in the state office.

``It's an honor to have someone to go from the board of education to the state Legislature who connects with the problems and travails of education,'' he said.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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