Trustees Vent Anger Over Bilingual Issue
Go away.
That was the message Orange Unified School District trustees said they’d like to send to the state Department of Education.
The seven trustees, still fuming from a recent judicial order blocking their plan to drop bilingual education, expressed the frustration recently in response to a letter from Assemblywoman Lynne Leach (R-Walnut Creek).
Leach, a member of the Assembly’s Education Committee, sent letters to school board members across the state asking what they would like most from the Legislature.
Most districts responded by listing the need for more buildings and smaller class sizes, said William Weber, a spokesman for the assemblywoman.
Some of those things made the Orange Unified list, but the top wish was more unusual: Dismantle the Department of Education. The department has been the chief opponent of the district’s English-only plan.
Trustee Robert H. Viviano said he would like to make the department a mere advisor to the state Board of Education, which has supported the district in its efforts to end bilingual classroom instruction.
“I understand you are asking for a wish list and that is my wish,” he said, only half joking.
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