Residency issue not in best interest

Re “Home of board hopeful at issue,” Aug. 22. I thank the Valley Sun for its coverage of the LCUSD school board elections.

We can all agree that it is important for school board members to be vested in the community. The appearance of this article was surprising. It is my understanding that the question of Joel Peterson’s residency has been previously addressed and found to be a non-issue by the school board itself.

LCUSD is fortunate to have Peterson serving on the school board, a thankless and unpaid position. There is no question about his contributions, performance and dedication. His accomplishments include establishing the LCF Chamber Internship and Scholarship Program, modernizing the computer infrastructure of the LCUSD campuses, and establishing the wine auction for the LCFEF Endowment. It’s hard to argue with success. There is also no question about Peterson’s commitment to the LCF community, which includes current service on the boards of the Community Scholarship Foundation, the LCF Chamber of Commerce and the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation.

Why launch a legal attack? Filing a legal complaint against anyone is serious business. Even frivolous complaints divert time, money (personal and taxpayer), and precious bandwidth by all parties that could be better spent elsewhere, e.g. the LCUSD Endowment.

The LCUSD school board elections provide a forum for the public to learn more about the positions of the candidates, the activities of the school board and the important and ever-changing challenges that face LCUSD. The ensuing spirited discussions about these real issues can only benefit the community. Dredging up old (non)issues only serves to hijack the discussion away from substantive matters.

Such a puerile and aggressive legal action is beyond the pale and is in stark contrast to the enlightened nature of our community. More importantly, it does not have the best interests of the students in mind.

David A. Boyd
La Cañada Flintridge