Colfax Charter Redistricting Discussed at NCVV Meeting

The Neighborhood Council Valley Village met Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the . Many issues were discussed that night, but the one that raised the most passion was about the school itself.

Several parents of students at the school were there to express their anger at an LAUSD redistricting committee ruling that closed the option areas that Colfax shared with nearby in Studio City, Riverside Elementary in Sherman Oaks and in Toluca Lake. Two neighborhoods in Valley Village that were inside the district are now outside of the Colfax Charter boundary.

While families that were previously enrolled at Colfax, a high-performing school that recently , will be allowed to stay at the school if they are now located outside of the Colfax district, new families moving into the neighborhoods will have to go to a neighboring school. At least 10 families with students that live within the current boundary have been turned away because they registered their children too late, according to NCVV President Tony Braswell.

Some parents were worried what the redistricting would do to their property values. Braswell expressed his support of the parents but was quick to point out that LAUSD has all the power on the issue.

"We don't have the ability to make changes in regard to this issue," said Braswell. "But I will tell you what we can do. We can pile everybody into my car and we will go talk to whoever we have to talk to. Because we are going to get this resolved and we are going to make sure folks voices are heard. That's what we can do to help."

Braswell had spoken to an LAUSD official about the redistricting and shared what he had learned.

"There are a lot of things going on here and its real complicated," said Brawsell. "The community that we know isn't finite. It changes almost every day. There are new opportunities for housing, there's some that might close. There are really big changes like into a 200-plus unit apartment building and the potential for a lot of kids to come into this district.

"So the district boundaries have to morph because the walls of this school don't change. This school can only hold a certain number of students. And as the school capacity grows and changes, the school capacity doesn't and you have to change the boundaries so the capacity isn't exceeded."

Colfax parents were unaware of the redistricting changes until the last day of school in June when they received a short letter that explained the new boundaries.

"There have been Colfax families that looked to buy on my block, but were told if they move out of the district they will not be allowed back into the school. It's already affecting the home values in our area," said Lisa Jabobs, a Colfax parent who lives in one of the areas now outside of the district.

A Colfax father also spoke up and expressed anger that the new apartments being built on Riverside Drive at the old Steven's Nursery site will be included in the Colfax Charter boundaries while his home has been excluded.

"I'm sitting here feeling kind of dumb for not being on top of the thing, whoever was signing off on those 200 units next to Gelson's," he said. "I wish I would have been smart enough to figure this out. In my view, someone has taken an asset that my neighborhood has paid for through the years through their time and efforts and community involvement and they just grabbed it from us and gave it to whoever owns those apartment buildings ... because those apartments are worth more because they can send their kids here. I don't think that's fair."

Braswell then pointed out that the apartment complex on Riverside is not yet complete and the new boundaries were not drawn with it in mind yet, meaning the district lines are likely to shrink again once it is open.

"This is going to happen again this year. They are at capacity right now. If ten families have already been turned away, this is going to happen again," said Braswell.

Valley Village Park Construction

Braswell also updated everyone on the that was originally slated to begin in July but began last week. The park will remain open during construction but different sections will be closed off as they are being renovated.

Construction will include a crushed granite walkway along the perimeter, a canopy over the children’s' play area, partial canopy over the picnic area, a refurbished backstop on the baseball diamond, new lights and a chess/backgammon table.

Braswell said the project will cost $400,000 project, but no timeframe on how long the renovations will take has been determined.