LAKE FOREST : Hearing on School Elicits Complaints

At an emotional public hearing Thursday, a standing-room-only crowd bitterly complained to Saddleback Valley Unified School District trustees and staff about proposed boundaries for a new elementary school.

The hearing was the second of two meetings this week organized by the district to get public input before a final decision on the school’s boundaries is made in March.

The school, at 21801 Pittsford Drive, is scheduled to open in September. It will be the district’s 22nd elementary school and will most likely be named Lake Forest Elementary School. Many of the more than 175 parents in attendance at the hearing complained that the planned enrollment of 964 students is too high. They said that crowded conditions and the use of portable classrooms would lead to traffic problems and have a negative effect on the quality of education.

“I don’t believe that life on this campus, with nearly 1,000 students, is going to give my child the same level of education as a student in a less crowded site,” said parent Kim Fix.

Other parents complained that the school’s boundaries are too spread out and will require a hazardous walk to school from some homes across El Toro Road and Lake Forest Street.

In contrast, many parents told district officials that they are glad to have the school opening in their neighborhood, despite the crowded conditions, because it will mean that their children will no longer have to be bused to a school farther from their homes.

Two parents who served on the study commission that came up with the boundaries defended their proposal.

“You can’t come here and expect all of the people to be happy all of the time,” said parent Ellen Williams, who was jeered when she called many in the crowd “self-centered” and “selfish.”

“I think it’s terrible that we have to talk about opening a new school with more than 900 students,” added parent and committee member Tom Wawersich. “But the reality of the economic situation is that we are going to be faced with big schools. We discussed virtually everything we could think of to work around so many students, including year-round school and busing. Economics was the bottom line.”

Both hearings were attended by several district trustees, who will review district staff’s final recommendation for proposed boundaries at their Feb. 11 meeting and are scheduled to make a final decision on March 10.

“We’re here to tune into what people are saying and to consider their input,” said Raghu P. Mathur, president of the board. “We want to do the best we can in serving the interests of the largest number of students possible and protect the integrity of education.”