The Region - News from June 15, 1986

Actor Paul Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, have offered a $100,000 contribution to keep UCLA’s Fernald School for children with learning disabilities open, but UCLA officials said the school would close as scheduled at the end of the month. In a telegram to university officials, Newman said the $100,000, equal to what the school costs UCLA annually, would keep Fernald open “at least for a year to allow the university to seek an alternative.” UCLA Chancellor Charles Young announced last February that the 65-year-old school would close June 30, and a UCLA spokesman said Newman and Woodward’s offer would not prompt a change of course. “The issue is not the money involved,” spokesman Harlan Lebow said. “What is most important to us is the research and training of UCLA students. Fernald just was not meeting those objectives. As far as the chancellor is concerned, the issue is settled.”