Curbed checked out last night's public hearing about the proposed school at Site 9A in Echo Park. The most riveting moment of the meeting, held at Rosemont School, came when District 1 Representative Christine Peters accused the LAUSD of using fuzzy math. She read statistics that would seem to indicate that the schools LAUSD are trying to relieve are actually losing students. John Anderson, senior CEQA project manager at the LAUSD, was simply listening to comments so wouldn't respond to Peters' allegations. (Curbed chatted with him after, but Anderson would only say that the LAUSD stood by its figures.)
Overall, the crowd of 30 or so people who attended the meeting were unhappy about the school and unhappy at the LAUSD. A few people spoke out about the asthma risks inherent in building a school so close to the highway. Also, the design of the school was criticized: "not enough trees," "prison-like," and "not usable year-round." There were some supporters of the new school, notably one angry grandfather who said a closer school was needed for local kids.
Related:
· Audit: Los Angeles Unified School District is disorganized, lacks financial control [Daily News]
· Razing Echo Park [Curbed LA]