Glendale Unified School District concerts that, for their Christian themes, were incongruent with Nichiren Shoshu doctrine, and a speech (which became public when a recording was leaked) by then Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda. actions by Soka Gakkai were interpreted by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood as retaliation for the priesthood's admonitions urging the Soka Gakkai leadership to follow through on earlier commitments to uphold Nichiren Shoshu doctrine and traditions, which many in the priesthood and traditional lay organizations felt Soka Gakkai had been ignoring or furtively undermining since the death of the earlier Soka Gakkai and Hokkeko leader Josei Toda. Since its 1992 	Nikken Abe
23710464	excommunication, Soka Gakkai has adopted an accusation leveled by the Shoshinkai that Abe is a pretender to the high priest's position, on grounds that Abe was unable to substantiate proof his predecessor, High Priest Nittatsu Shonin, had transferred the position to him in the traditional ceremonial manner. Abe also left his personal mark on the grounds of Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taiseki-ji. He had numerous old lodging temples rebuilt and parts of the compound re-landscaped. In conjunction with some of the anniversary celebrations mentioned above, he had a bare-concrete building removed and a plaza and garden 	Nikken Abe
23710465	built in its place, as well as several quickly-built concrete lodgings replaced with two modern structures. After Nichiren Shoshu's excommunication of Soka Gakkai, he also had demolished several ferro-concrete edifices donated by Soka Gakkai, replacing them with buildings more in keeping with the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese Buddhist temple. To Soka Gakkai this was highly controversial considering that the buildings were built with donations from Soka Gakkai members. After the excommunication of Soka Gakkai, Abe founded numerous temples overseas (the last temple he founded was the Kaimyo-in Temple in Singapore in December 2005) and minor 	Nikken Abe
23710466	propagation centers in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America as well as Europe and North America. He also frequently visited them personally despite his advanced age. Expulsion of the Soka Gakkai. Soka Gakkai further attributes Abe's motivation for demolishing the Shohondo building (completed in 1972), the Dai Kyakuden (1964), and other buildings in the Taiseki-ji compound donated by Soka Gakkai, to resentment towards and jealousy of Soka Gakkai's leadership and to a desire to usurp the achievements of his predecessor. Abe's demolition of the Shohondo building was particularly controversial. Its construction was completed in 1972 largely 	Nikken Abe
23710467	through the efforts and financial donations of Soka Gakkai members, and it was regarded as a notable work of contemporary Japanese architecture. In response, Nichiren Shoshu stated that the official petitioner of the Shohondo, Daisaku Ikeda, was no longer a Nichiren Shoshu believer, and that therefore a structure donated by him was no longer worthy of serving as the head temple's high sanctuary, the building housing the Dai-Gohonzon, the school's most sacred object. In addition, Abe personally oversaw the transfer of the Dai-Gohonzon from the Shohondo to Taisekiji's Hoanden, the building that housed it during 	Nikken Abe
23710468	construction of the Hoando, its new home. Additional views claim that Abe's decision to expel Soka Gakkai was part of a personal vendetta against Ikeda due to the following issues: However, Nichiren Shoshu insists that the issue behind the demolition of the Shohondo and the subsequent erection on the same site of a new high sanctuary, the Hoando, was a necessary step in establishing a building based on correct orthodox faith in Nichiren Shoshu. Soka Gakkai vehemently rejects these charges, claiming that it is Abe who has deviated from the doctrines of Nichiren Shoshu. It further alleges that Abe 	Nikken Abe
23710469	himself was personally corrupt and that his motive for excommunicating Soka Gakkai was to bolster his personal power over believers. The Soka Gakkai leadership has been consistently scathing in its criticism of Abe in particular and the priesthood in general, claiming accusations of simony, sexual hedonism, monopolizing the Dai-Gohonzon, and claims based on the extant notes of a senior priest, Jitoku Kawabe (1929—2002), alleging that Abe was aware that the Dai-Gohonzon was not authentic. Later years. Abe was one of the few high priest in Nichiren Shoshu's history, after Nikko shonin (1246-1333), to reach 80 years 	Nikken Abe
23710470	of age while actively serving in the position. By the time he retired about midway through his 27th year, he had reconfigured Head Temple Taiseki-ji in a manner more congruent with tradition and restored a number of ceremonies to their traditional times and formats. In the view of Hokkeko believers, Nikken Abe ensured that Nichiren Shoshu doctrine would be communicated to believers without reinterpretations of convenience. He also survived attempts against efforts from three breakaway groups, beginning with Kenshokai in 1974, followed by Shoshinkai in 1980, and ultimately by Soka Gakkai, which was expelled in 1991. In later years 	Nikken Abe
23710471	Abe continued to participate in the Gokaihi ceremonies (direct audiences with the Dai-Gohonzon) in both November and April, the most important months in the Nichiren Shoshu calendar. He died in his private residence in Nakamachi district of Setagaya ward in Tokyo on 20 September 2019, aged 96. His body was briefly exhibited in the Kyakuden for international believers and thereafter his cremated remains are interred in the Buddhist stupa no. 67 at the burial cemetery grounds of Taisekiji. External links. Official Nichiren Shoshu Temple site (USA) Official Soka Gakkai / Soka Gakkai International (SGI) sites Nikken Abe Nikken Abe (阿部日顕	Nikken Abe
23710472	Glendale Unified School District Glendale Unified School District The Glendale Unified School District is a school district based in Glendale, California, United States in Greater Los Angeles. The school district serves the city of Glendale, portions of the city of La Cañada Flintridge and the unincorporated communities of Montrose and La Crescenta. It consists of 20 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 5 high schools and 3 facilities for homeschoolers and special-needs students. In the 2008–2009 school year, the district served 26,809 students and expects enrollment to decline 1–2% in each of the next three years. As of 2002, it was the third-largest 	Glendale Unified School District
23710473	district in Los Angeles County and among the thirty-largest in the State of California. It is the 157th largest in the nation. In 2009 the GUSD had 2,620 employees, of which about half are classroom teachers. Beginning in the 2016–2017 school year, GUSD started officially commemorating the Armenian genocide, having April 24 off as a holiday. They are the first school district in the nation to do so. History. In 2013, the district hired the company Geo Listening to monitor social media accounts of students enrolled in the district. Richard Sheehan, the superintendent of Glendale Unified, said The whole  purpose is student safety." Demographics. In the GUSD, by 1988, Armenians along with students from the Middle East had become the largest ethnic group in the public schools, now having a larger number than the Latinos. Alice Petrossian, the GUSD director of intercultural education, stated that Burbank lies within the middle of other Armenian communities, so it attracted Armenians. In 1987, the district had eight Armenian-speaking teachers and teaching aides, and that year had hired five additional Armenian-speaking teachers and teacher aides. As of 1990, the largest immigrant group speaking an ethnic home language in the GUSD was  the Armenians. By 2004, over 33% of the Glendale district students were Armenian. That year, due to high levels of student absence around the Armenian Christmas (January 6) and the anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide (Red Sunday, April 24), the district considered making Armenian holidays school holidays, eventually, starting in the 2016 year, the district started having April 24 off. Governance. The district is governed by a board of education consisting of five trustees who are elected to four-year terms. The board of education also appoints a superintendent to oversee day-to-day operations of the  district, as well as a non-voting student representative who serves during the school year. Effective with the April 2017 election, board of education members are elected by geographical district instead of at-large. Starting with the 2020 California Primary election, Glendale Unified School District Board of Education election is being held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March to comply with the statewide election law (Senate Bill 415). The current board of education is as follows: Election results. "Source: City Clerk, City of Glendale" Safety. The district contracts with the Glendale Police Department for schools within  Glendale, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for schools within Montrose and La Crescenta. Cybersurveillance of students. In 2012, the District hired Geo Listening for a pilot program to monitor public online activity of students at the Crescenta Valley, Glendale, and Hoover High Schools. While the school district has claimed that the program, now expanded to all of the District's schools, is meant to detect cyberbullying, critics have questioned whether it violates the privacy rights of students and whether the $40,500 spent on the program so far is well spent. Analysts working for Geo Listening comb  through posts students from Glendale Unified School District schools make on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, reporting daily to school administrators. Reports include the student's user names, screen captures of their posts, and details on where they were when they made the post. An attorney with the ACLU characterized the program as "sweeping and far afield of what is necessary to ensure student safety." Glendale Unified School District The Glendale Unified School District is a school district based in Glendale, California, United States in Greater Los Angeles. The school district serves the city of Glendale, portions of the city of