Santa Clarita School Board to Sue County Over Development Limits
The board of trustees of the William S. Hart Union High School District in Santa Clarita voted unanimously Friday night to sue the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the latest step in a running conflict over building permits and school crowding.
The issue involves whether Santa Clarita can apply a 1988 state Court of Appeal ruling that held that local governments could use potential overcrowding in schools as a reason to deny building permits.
The Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9 voted 3 to 1 not to accept the ruling. State law makes schools a state responsibility, said County Counsel De Witt W. Clinton.
The lawsuit would challenge the authority of the supervisors to reject the ruling, which Santa Clarita school districts want the supervisors to accept.
The disputed court decision would hand a strong bargaining position to school officials, who could block construction projects by arguing that they do not have sufficient classroom space or give projects their blessing in return for extra payments from developers.
School officials argue that the fees the state requires developers to pay for schools are not nearly enough to cover school construction costs.
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