TOP FIVE THINGS THAT STINK IN MAR VISTA

THE TOP FIVE THINGS THAT REALLY STINK ABOUT WHAT THE LAUSD AND REP. STEVE ZIMMER ARE DOING IN MAR VISTA

1. THE NEW MANDARIN IMMERSION (MI) SCHOOL IS GETTING 30 MILLION FROM LAUSD. THE TWO UNDERFUNDED PUBLIC SCHOOLS IT IS BEING BUILT BETWEEN GET NOTHING.

The LAUSD is building the new MI school using 30 million in bond money that is earmarked ONLY for new construction. Legally none of that money can be dispersed to Mark Twain or Beethoven for renovations or anything else the LAUSD has failed to provide them for decades. This arrangement STINKS of favoritism.

2. THE NEW MI SCHOOL IS A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUT IT HAS THE ENROLLMENT RESTRICTIONS OF A LANGUAGE PROGRAM.

Usually you build a new public school and add an optional language program. In this case the new public school IS the language program. Only kids who want to speak Mandarin can enroll in Kindergarten. As with most language programs, after second grade you have to know enough Mandarin to transfer in to your appropriate grade. These restrictions will exclude hundreds of kids from local families whose tax dollars will be used to build the school. STINKS doesn’t even come close to describing how bad this smells to them.

3. LAUSD IS BUILDING A NEW SCHOOL FOR 400 STUDENTS WHEN SCHOOLS ON THE WESTSIDE ARE OPERATING AT 38% VACANCY. THAT EQUALS 5500 SPOTS OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT.

Mr. Zimmer is refusing to look at viable alternatives to new construction. He can move the MI program into a school with enough vacancy to accommodate it. He can move the other programs at Broadway to other schools so the MI program can stay at Broadway. He can temporarily limit enrollment in the MI program. He can find a LAUSD location for new construction that can actually accommodate the school he wants to build. Theses are things he CAN do but just REFUSES to do. His fear, his incompetence and his stubbornness – they all STINK.

4. THE PLANNED LOCATION OF THE NEW MI SCHOOL WILL ADD 1000 NEW COMMUTERS EVERY WEEKDAY TO THE RESIDENTIAL STREETS THAT SURROUND IT.

One-way streets and additional light signals can’t turn 1000 new commuters into a 100 new commuters. Nothing can. Mr. Zimmer’s draft EIR report already says as much, but he has the autonomy to ignore it. He can just let the community be destroyed by traffic and endanger the kids at all three schools in the process. This is a major STINKOSITY.

5. WITH NO PLANNED PARKING LOT FOR PICK-UP OR DROP-OFF, THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD WILL BECOME THE PARKING LOT.

Parents walk their little kids in and out of a K thru 5 Elementary School. That means the 1000 commuters have to park somewhere. There are simply not enough spots on the residential streets to accommodate this daily amount of cars. Parents will be parking illegally, in front of driveways and who knows where else to get their kids to school on time. Does this smell like a well thought out plan? NO! IT STINKS!

IF YOU WANT THE STINK TO GO AWAY EMAIL OR CALL MR. ZIMMER AND TELL HIM:
steve.zimmer@lausd.net 213-241-6387

NOT ENOUGH? FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DO MORE AT:
http://stopcommuterschool.com

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!