Miraleste Efforts Are Not Nonsense

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District President Jeffrey Younggren’s reference as “this nonsense” (Times, Sept. 10) to the efforts of those who oppose his voting to close Miraleste and to sell Dapplegray and other school properties is a personal affront to me. It must also be an affront to the many other Palos Verdes residents who have collected money and spent considerable time gathering information, preparing analyses and communicating with public officials on these matters.

It is hard for me to see as nonsense the fact that more than $300,000 was donated by highly educated residents who oppose Younggren’s actions. Maybe $300,000 is nonsense (non-cents?) to those voting on $30-million budgets. These same residents spent literally thousands of hours of their very valuable time on these problems. Were their efforts nonsense?

What is nonsense is Younggren’s comment in the same Times article that “As soon as we have that (the environmental impact report) we’ll (prepare to) close the school next fall.” How can a responsible, elected official come to a sensible decision without first examining the EIR? Have not the courts, the most impartial entity in this situation, said the original analysis and decision was seriously flawed? Has not the situation changed significantly since the original decision was reached (e.g. Proposition 98 money, better demographic information, more flight to private schools, movement with respect to Eastview, etc.)? What is nonsense is keeping in office people who come out with such statements and are unwilling to seriously consider changing circumstances. I say we put an end to “this nonsense” by retiring Jeffrey Younggren and those who think like him from office!

THEODORE J. MOCK

Rancho Palos Verdes