Schools
School Board to Take No Action on Sign
Board says they're not willing to take action on the Aztec Pride painting - for now.
The Desert Sands Unified School District Board declined to address the controversial "Aztec Pride" sign at Palm Desert High - saying it will stay as it is - for now.
The Lantana Homeowners Association says that painted sign and kitchens is an eyesore, detrimental to property values, and petitioned the School Board to have the sign removed.
Following discussion among the school board, no members recommended it be put on a future agenda.
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"This is one of the rare times we might not be able to work with the community," Board Member Matteo Monica said.
Gail Moore, member of the Lantana Community Homewoners Association told the board that when the gated-access community was built in 2001, it was with knowledge they were adjacent to the high school.
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"We listen the the school announcements, we live with the football games, we see the lights. We love the School, it's part of the community," Moore said.
But Moore told the board that the neighbors weren't consulted during the school's rebuilding, and plans for the mural were never known until it was complete and that do not tell the whole story.
"Perception is everything," Moore told the board. "If you've seen a postcard of The Alamo in San Antonio, it's a wonderful historic building. Then you visit it person and see it's much smaller and surrounded by high-rise buildings. It's all the perception."
Moore told the board that housing values have dropped considerably in Lantana during the recent economic crisis, and that they were told the Aztec Pride sign would push values even lower.
"We're asking for a total removal of the sign, or a lowering so it's not visible from our backyards. That way you can have a wonderful sign for the athletic fields."
Desert Sands Superintendent Dr. Sharon McGehee, advised the board that the money to paint the months-old sign, just over $10,000, was raised by the PDHS students and did not come from district funds.
The board members decided to take no action for now, and that the topic can be revisited when the sign needs repainting.
