Yorba Linda : Council Blasts Lack of School Buildings

The City Council this week approved a resolution that criticizes what Mayor John M. Gullixson says is the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District’s refusal to build more schools in Yorba Linda.

Councilman Henry W. Wedaa cast the lone dissenting vote Tuesday night, questioning whether it was appropriate for the council to pass a resolution regarding school district policies.

Gullixson claims the school district plans to bus students to schools in Placentia and Anaheim when Yorba Linda schools are full.

“The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has adopted a policy of busing Yorba Linda children to schools outside the city when facilities in Yorba Linda are full rather than build additional schools in Yorba Linda to accommodate the needs of children in our community,” his resolution reads.

Supt. James O. Fleming has denied the mayor’s assertions.

“That’s not a district position,” Fleming said earlier this month after Gullixson released a draft of the resolution. “We have built two schools in Yorba Linda in the last six years, and we’ve related to the council that we are sure we’ll need to build at least one more (elementary) school in the city.”

Since he was elected to the council in 1990, Gullixson has been a strong proponent of building a high school in Yorba Linda. High school students in Yorba Linda attend either Troy High School in Fullerton or Esperanza High School in Anaheim.

A city of 55,000 residents should have its own high school, the mayor said. It’s not right “to be the only major city in the county without a high school.”

Wedaa wondered why busing should be opposed. “All my kids were bused to school, and they were happy,” he said.

Councilwoman Barbara Kiley said busing is expensive and creates problems for students involved in after-school activities.

Councilman Daniel T. Welch said he is opposed to busing because he wants his children as close to home as possible.