PLACENTIA : School Boundaries Forum Draws Crowd

A public forum held by an advisory committee on new school boundaries attracted a standing-room-only crowd at the Backs Community Building this week.

About 150 people attended the Thursday night forum, which was held to gather thoughts from the public on upcoming boundary changes.

The 12-member Attendance Area Boundary Committee was appointed by Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Supt. James O. Fleming to recommend new boundaries for some or all of the district’s 19 elementary schools, five middle and junior high schools and three high schools.

While the committee was asked to look at the entire district and consider a variety of factors, such as transportation, ethnic makeup of the schools and utilization of campuses, the impetus for the boundary changes is the expected influx of up to 700 high school students during the next three years, beginning with the 1993-94 school year.

The increase is a result of state legislation passed last year that will transfer several Yorba Linda neighborhoods from the Fullerton Joint Union High School District to the Placentia-Yorba Linda district. Although those students attend elementary and middle schools in Yorba Linda, an agreement between the Fullerton district and the old Yorba Linda School District had sent them to Troy High School in Fullerton.

The high school attendance boundaries do not include neighborhoods that feed into Yorba Linda Middle School. The three elementary school attendance areas that feed into the middle school are located about halfway between two of the Placentia-Yorba Linda district’s high schools, Esperanza and El Dorado.

The 23 parents and teachers who spoke Thursday had a variety of concerns, ranging from the number of non-English-speaking students at some schools to how the boundary changes could affect the June ballot initiative on school choice.

But the predominant concern was transportation. Several parents said they would not allow their children to be bused across busy Imperial Highway and over railroad tracks.

“With school buses not required to have seat belts, it’s not safe,” said one parent whose children attend Travis Ranch Elementary School.

Parents also mentioned the hardship posed when students are involved in after-school activities at distant schools.

“It creates a hardship when you have to drive across town to pick up your kids,” said a parent of a Valencia High School student. “Don’t bus kids past one school to another.”

The large number of non-English and limited-English-speaking students at some schools was an issue for several parents, who asked the committee to shift some of those students to other schools.

“I’m concerned with the ethnic imbalance,” said a parent whose children attend Morse Elementary School in Placentia. “It affects the learning environment and social choices. Please ease that imbalance.”

But Jim Segovia, a teacher at Kraemer Junior High School, implored parents to be more accepting of minority students.

“Don’t be afraid to accept Mexican students into your schools,” Segovia said. “They are eager to learn, and they bring a rich cultural heritage to the schools.”

Two more public forums are planned: Wednesday at Bryant Ranch School, 24695 Paseo De Toronto in Yorba Linda; and Jan. 19 at the Educational Services Center, 4999 Casa Loma Ave. in Yorba Linda. Both forums will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Comments and suggestions can also be sent to the Attendance Area Boundary Committee in care of the district, 1301 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Placentia, Calif. 92670.