Sabatino Picked to Fill Vacancy on West Covina School Board

Peter P. Sabatino has been appointed to the embattled West Covina school board six months after he ran unsuccessfully for a seat.

Sabatino, a 34-year-old school records administrator with the Los Angeles County office of education, will replace Tim Irwin, who resigned in February after moving from the district. Trustees unanimously picked Sabatino on April 4 from a field of four candidates.

In the November race, in which three incumbents were ousted, Sabatino finished in the middle of a pack of 12 candidates, garnering 8% of the vote.

Troubled Board

Sabatino, who has never held elective office, said he was elated by his selection.

“When I couldn’t sleep until 2 in the morning, I knew I must be really wound up,” he said. “This is great. I always wanted to do something for the community.”

Sabatino was sworn in at last Tuesday’s board meeting, joining a troubled school board grappling with fallout from school closures, a $3.3-million debt to the state and recall efforts against two trustees.

Board President Joe Mount, who, along with Trustee William J. Brutocao, is the target of a recall drive, said Sabatino’s earlier involvement with the district swayed the board.

“He has a demonstrated interest in that he already sought the job in the election, and he was not a late arriver,” Mount said.

Sabatino has been involved in one of the district’s thorniest decisions.

Firestorm of Protest

Shortly after the School Use Planning Committee in January recommended closing West Covina High School, Hollencrest and Willowood intermediate schools, and Merced and Cortez elementary schools, Sabatino made alternative proposals.

In a letter to the board, he disputed the committee’s conclusions and suggested closing only the high school while retaining Merced and the intermediate schools.

Eventually, Supt. Jane D. Gawronski also went against the committee’s recommendations, urging the closure of Edgewood High School, the intermediate schools and Cortez school, citing the district staff’s assessment of the student capacity and condition of the two high school campuses.

The board followed her recommendation, touching off a firestorm of protest from Edgewood High backers and a self-appointed “Fact Finding Committee” of concerned parents.

Sabatino said the board made the right decision.

“I know fully what I’m getting into,” he said. “Somebody has got to make those decisions, and I think that I’m going to be an asset to the board.”

Sabatino said his connections with education officials and other school boards in the county could prove valuable.

‘Contacts, Resources’

“I’m not in an area where I would have any conflict of interest,” he said. “However, I do have contacts and resources at my disposal. . . . I know who’s doing studies and who has the most recent information.”

Sabatino has proposed informal town meetings to get the community more involved and ease anxiety. More communication, he said, would lessen the apprehension caused by the school closures and recall efforts.

“I think the board is committed to a unified district,” he said. “The small group of dissenters is just that--a small group of dissenters.”