Westwood : Panel Backs Fernald Closing

Members of the educational policy committee of the University of California Regents voted 6 to 4 last week against a motion that sought to prevent the closure of UCLA’s Fernald School for the learning handicapped on June 30.

Friends of Fernald spokesman Michael A. Cornwell said that the committee discussed the issue for about two hours at its meeting at UCLA last Thursday, but a majority defeated the motion asking Chancellor Charles E. Young to reconsider the closure decision.

Friends of Fernald attorney Harold Friedman said members planned to meet this week to discuss a possible last-ditch court action to prevent the closure of the 65-year-old school and research center.

UCLA officials said Fernald would be closed so its research funds could be diverted to the university for research on childhood disabilities. Efforts will be made to help relocate about 70 students to other Los Angeles-area schools for the learning-handicapped, they said.