GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED School District Board of Education (OC Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

Celebrations were the order of business at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

Eleven elementary schools in the GGUSD have been declared California Distinguished School for showing exceptional academic outcomes or great success in closing the achievement gap.

That’s the most in Orange County and topped only by the huge Los Angeles Unified School District, which is 14 times larger than the GGUSD.

The board presented framed certificates to representatives – principals, teachers and other staff – from Anthony, Barker, Brookhurst, Cook. Eisenhower, Excelsior, Hill, Patton, Peters K-3 and 4-6 and Zeyen schools.

Also on Tuesday the board approved by a 4-0 vote – with Trustee Dina Nguyen absent – acceptance of a bid from The Wooden Floor to expand after-school modern dance offerings in concert with the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove. Funding comes from the State of California.

Also the board accepted a bid for cybersecurity services from Nth Generation Computing Inc. to strengthen protection for data and “safeguarding” the GGUSD’s “digital environment.”

The bid is for $1,259,277 and funding comes from the Federal Communications Commission.

GGUSD serves most of Garden Grove and parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.