Politics Must Not Taint Study

Los Angeles Unified School District officials appear to be taking seriously the concerns of parents who fear that a sinkhole in Mountain View Elementary’s playground may threaten plans to install a cluster of portable classrooms. The district has wisely elected to postpone a final decision on erecting the half-dozen or so classrooms until playground soil is tested over the summer. Among the things engineers ought to look for: old septic tanks.

Before the Tujunga campus opened in 1957, homes occupied the hilly site. Yet campus architectural plans identify only three septic tanks on the property--all of them installed by the school’s original builder. District officials also know of one other tank not listed on the blueprints. One of those tanks--now unused--caused the sinkhole, which opened just a few yards from where new classrooms are planned.

No one knows whether other septic tanks remain, but the playground blacktop is covered with cracks where moisture could potentially seep into the soil. Taking the time to investigate just what lies beneath the blacktop is a reasonable precaution. But the study must not be tainted by politics. The parents’ concern over the portable classrooms is part of a broader dispute about enrollment at the school.

Students bused from crowded schools elsewhere in the district account for more than a quarter of Mountain View’s enrollment of 555. The portable classrooms are intended to house at least 50 new students from the east San Fernando Valley, Highland Park and Lincoln Heights. Neighbors already complain about traffic around the school, and some fear more buses will only worsen existing safety problems.

Those concerns are legitimate. But they must not cloud the district’s study of the earth beneath the playground. Schools and neighborhoods across the Valley are asked to accommodate children from other parts of the district.

Traffic problems can be eased with signs or better drop-off procedures. Although far from ideal, busing guarantees kids equal access to uncrowded classrooms until new schools can be built. If the ground beneath Mountain View can support a few more temporary classrooms, parents should too.