More on Schools and Warner Center Plan

I was disappointed to read Bonny Matheson’s attack against the school district in her op-ed piece “School District’s Lesson: When All Else Fails, Sue” (April 24).

The article is distorted and full of rather inflated rhetoric. I would like to set the record straight.

In approving the Warner Center Specific Plan, the city refused to require mitigation for the negative effects on Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School. Both schools are adjacent to major thoroughfares to be widened under the plan. Noise and dust from construction and increased traffic will affect the schools. District requests for mitigation--such as air-conditioning to allow windows to be closed--simply fell on deaf ears during the entire planning process. Sewers and parking spaces received more attention than the children in these schools. As the representative for these schools and the students they serve, my only interest is in obtaining needed mitigation.

Ms. Matheson suggests that state-mandated developer fees could pay for the needed mitigation. Unfortunately, these fees are also state-controlled and are not available to mitigate local needs. Instead, they are earmarked as a “match” for state funds to build new schools in overcrowded areas.

It is unfortunate that the city refused to address the issue of schools until a lawsuit was filed. Councilwoman Laura Chick, who took office after all this occurred, has expressed a strong interest in resolving this matter and avoiding costly litigation. I applaud her leadership and have pledged to work with her.

Economic development and school environments conducive to learning are not mutually exclusive. Working together, we can achieve both in a way in which everyone benefits.

I regret that Ms. Matheson constructed a view of these events that only reinforces adversarial approaches. For example, her frequent and undocumented charges of “mismanagement” and “fiscal incompetence” are simply cheap shots.

With a new mayor, a new council member and a new desire to work together, this case can become an opportunity for improved understanding and cooperation. That is my goal.

MARK SLAVKIN

Los Angeles

Slavkin represents the Second District on the Los Angeles Board of Education.