Arch. Hovnan Derderian, Sinan Sinanian suffer a major defeat as Pasadena Unified School District approves Armenian Academy Project
Posted on March. 31. 2020
BY APPO JABARIAN
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
Hye Kiank Armenian Weekly
On Thur. March. 26, at about 6 p.m., Melkonian Global Overture Chairperson Arsiné Shirvanian wrote on her Facebook page: “WE DID IT!!!!!!! We are thrilled to share with you the passing of a vote by Pasadena Unified School District in favor of establishing an Armenian language Dual Immersion Program at Blair High School which is the first of its kind in United States of America. Now the work begins for each community member to bring this program to life!!!”
Earlier in the day the PUSD board approved a staff recommendation for “conditional” approval of new “Armenian Dual Language Program Academy.”
It would not be the proposed bilingual Armenian charter high school that was discussed at the board’s meeting on Feb. 27.
Former principle of Arshag Dikranian Armenian School Vartkes Kourouyan wrote on Shirvanian’s Facebook page: “Congratulations Arsine. The History of the Armenians in Pasadena will remember you as one of the most prominent Armenian Citizen. You deserve a Gold Medal from the Armenian Community of California. I take my hat off for you. If there is anything that I can do for you, for ‘your’ school, please don’t hesitate to ask. We Love You!”
Pasadena Unified School District board Vice-President Scott Phelps wrote: “Thank you for your collaboration on this effort. I look forward to the work of integrating this into PUSD.”
Shirvanian wrote to Phelps thanking him for his support: “We are very much looking forward to this collaboration. We will do everything in our power to make this a success!!”
President of Mashdots College Garbis Der-Yeghiayan wrote to Ms. Shirvanian: “Congratulations! A new benchmark in the history of the Armenian community in Pasadena. Your leadership in spearheading this effort is greatly appreciated.”
Vartkes Kourouyan added: “The Armenian community in Pasadena owes this achievement to Mr. and Mrs. Beno and Arsiné Shirvanians. They deserve our accolades. Brrrrrrrrrravo Arsine.”
However, this latest achievement benefitting the Armenian language, culture and heritage didn’t come easily.
For several months dozens of Pasadena community members endeavored to assist in these collective efforts primarily led by Shirvanian.
Soon after the late 2019 announcement by Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Central Board of its decision to close Pasadena’s AGBU Vatché and Tamar Manoukian High School, dozens of local Armenians and supporters of Armenian Education realized that the decision to shut down that vibrant Armenian day school was final.
Many were convinced that the unilateral decision by Western Diocese’ Arch. Hovnan Derderian’s main allies AGBU autocrats Berge Setrakian and Sinan Sinanian was irreversible.
The tens of thousands of voting AGBU members were no longer around to mount a timely opposition to Sinanian and Setrakian in order to keep the high school open. They were systematically axed back in 1998 through a motion on an amendment to change the AGBU by-laws that eliminated the voting rights of all members. The AGBU motion was promoted by Berge Setrakian, his main allies Sinan Sinanian, the late Louise Manoogian Simone and other proxies. (A similar motion at the $100 million asset-rich Ararat Home of Los Angeles is now being pushed forward by Sinanian and his main ally current chairman Joseph Kanimian, Esq.)
In the aftermath of Pas. AGBU High School closure, pro-active members of the community, led by Melkonian Global Overture’s Shirvanian, took the initiative to establish an Armenian charter high school named after the late Melkonian brothers – the benefactors of Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) in Cyprus which was shut down by AGBU in 2005 in order to liquidate the institute’s $100+ million real estate assets. The sell-off was blocked by the MEI alumni and the Cyprus government.
The idea of an Armenian charter high school in Pasadena in replacement of AGBU HS was presented to the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) board in early 2020.
A well-informed source stated that in late-Jan. and early Feb. the PUSD board leadership “was really ready to approve the Melkonian Charter High School proposal. It sounded like everybody was on board.”
AN ‘UNEXPECTED’ TURN OF EVENTS
But to the surprise of over 200 supporters who were present at the Feb. 27 meeting, there was a sudden change in positions on the part of PUSD board members.
Why the sudden change of attitudes and positions? A series of coincidences?
On Monday, February 17, 2020, Terry Tornek, Mayor of the City of Pasadena had visited the Western Diocese. Accompanied by Mr. Roy Vruyr Boulghourjian, member of the PUSD (District 2), Mr. Tornek met with the Diocesan Primate and “discussed avenues of collaboration between the Diocese and the District.”
It looks like the ‘collaboration’ between Mr. Tornek and the Diocese bore its first ‘fruits.’
Reportedly during a subsequent conversation in Pasadena with a community member, then mayor of Pasadena Tornek reportedly expressed serious doubts about the timing of the proposed Armenian charter HS. His reasoning was that the District has closed 5 schools and it wouldn’t be right for the opening of Armenian charter HS.
The timing of the Feb. 17 visit by Mayor Tornek to Arch. Derderian at the Western Diocese seemed peculiar for several Pasadenans. It raised many eyebrows in Pasadena and the Southland. The photograph of Mayor Tornek with Arch. Derderian went viral in the mobile text message boxes around town.
A few days later, just before the Feb. 27 voting, an official at PUSD said: “I am afraid that if this proposal goes to vote, not because of its the merits, the program is beautiful, but because of the political climate, because we’re closing down five schools, we cannot approve this. So, do you want us to simply deny it? Or are you willing to work with us to create an Armenian immersion Program on high school level?”
“DELAY, DIVERT AND DENY SO THAT THEY WOULD GIVE UP ON THIS PROJECT?” COULD THERE BE A VINTAGE DERDERIAN TACTIC AT WORK?
Many members of the community find this latest argument by PUSD officials unconvincing.
A number of Pasadena Armenians believe that “this is a vintage Derderian tactic — to find a pretext to deny so that the charter school project fails” and “delay and deny the approval as much as possible” so that as time goes by (“anonk guh mornan yev yed guh guehnah ayss kordzeh” meaning) “they will forget about it and this project will fall through.”
During a conversation with a Pasadena Armenian citizen, this writer asked: “As soon as the Melkonian Global Overture leaders started talking with PUSD Board Members about the possibility of launching an Armenian charter high school in Pasadena is it true that the Arch. Derderian through his proxies started covertly lobbying against it?”
A knowledgeable AGBU student parent in Pasadena who is also a Western Diocese supporter asserted: “Absolutely! I’m flabbergasted at how much this man — Arch. Derderian is capable of doing mean things to other people!!!“
She continued: “And do you know who seems to be encouraging Derderian in this anti-Armenian witch-hunt against the Armenian charter school? It is none other than AGBU’s Sinanian who cannot fathom the resuscitation of the name ‘Melkonian’ after the 2005 unjustified shuttering by AGBU of the Melkonian Education Institute.”
In a conversation with USA Armenian Life, a parent of another displaced Pasadena AGBU High School student said: “Arch. Derderian and Sinanian are the kind of individuals that if anything is not to their direct benefit, they would be categorically against it.”
Although the charter school would operate under the supervision of PUSD, the proposed Armenian charter school in Pasadena would be independent from all factions in the Armenian community including Western Diocese (Etchmiadzin-affiliated), Western Prelacy (Cilicia-affiliated), Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western Region (ARF-WR), Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU-WR), Armenian National Committee of America WR (ANCA-WR), Ramgavar Party/Tekeyan Cultural Association, Social Democrat Hunchak Party (SDHP) among others.
Before the March 3 municipal elections, things looked very grim for the supporters of Armenian education in Pasadena as their application for an Armenian charter school was voted down.
Before the election, a segment of Pasadena municipal and school authorities were perceived to have been susceptive to secret lobbying by Western Diocese’s primate Arch. Derderian or his proxies in Pasadena not to grant any kind of approval for such a project.
Photos of Pasadena now-defeated mayor Tornek visiting Derderian before the March 3 municipal elections to solicit his support for his mayoral re-election bid went viral among many Pasadena supporters of Armenian charter school.
“I am relieved that Tornek lost the election. Now it seems everything is back ion track,” said a concerned member of the community.
The success “came after overcoming several challenges coming not so much from Pasadena government but from an unlikely source — Arch. Hovnan Derderian and his main allies such as Sinan Sinanian,” wrote a supporter of Armenian education.
Another community member, a longtime Western Diocese supporter and a MEI alumnus told this writer: “Sinanian who is one of the main architects of AGBU High School’s unwarranted closure in Pasadena, should have stepped aside and allow the community to work its Armenian Education-related issues out on its own. He should feel ashamed for shuttering a functioning Armenian day-school. But in the opposite, he has sought an underhanded force to help him quash a new Armenian charter school project in Pasadena. It seems he dislikes the prospect that eventually Melkonian High School will come to life because it bears the venerable name of benefactors Melkonian brothers.”
Back in late Feb., although they were impressed with the innovative master plan of then proposed Armenian charter school, PUSD officials still denied the approval. The reasoning was not really convincing. Many supporters of the project were troubled by the purported “covert efforts by Arch. Derderian who has an inclination to sabotage any project over which he doesn’t have total control. He is a control freak and a megalomaniac.”
A number of local elected officials and Derderian proxies are known to be “Derderian’s goons.” “They are misguided into thinking that by being subservient to Derderian and by securing his support their status in the community will be enhanced. They are totally wrong,” underlined another member of the local community adding that “Derderian is widely discredited in Pasadena and beyond. And in order to empower the community to come together for many more accomplishments it will be our job to make sure that Derderian’s goons are gone with him. Derderian’s time has come to end.”