Local News in Brief : School Secession Forums Set

Two public hearings have been scheduled in May on a citizens’ petition to establish a separate school district on the east side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The hearings, conducted by the county School District Organization Committee, are the next step in efforts by an east-side parents group to break away from the 9,800-student Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District and set up an independent system, which would serve students living generally east of Crenshaw Boulevard.

The East Peninsula Education Council began the secession effort in November, after the school board voted to close Miraleste High School at the end of this school year and consolidate its students next fall at the district’s two larger high school campuses on the west side.

The parents group submitted its petition in late February. Susan Brooks, a spokeswoman for the group, said nearly 58% of the registered voters in the proposed district signed the petition.

If the petition passes muster with the county committee, it will be reviewed by state school officials, who may veto it or leave the final decision to Peninsula voters.

The first public hearing will be May 17 at Miraleste High School and the second will be May 25 at Rolling Hills High School, with both sessions starting at 7 p.m.

In a related development this week, a May 10 hearing was set in Los Angeles Superior Court on a temporary injunction sought by the parents group. It is asking the court to order the district not to close Miraleste High until the outcome of the secession effort is known.

The group also is asking the court to hold up the sale of the closed Dapplegray Intermediate campus. District officials argue that income from the sale or lease of both properties is urgently needed to operate the existing school system.