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Repetition Does Not Make an Untruth True

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Re “Correcting Zirgulis

I don’t normally enter the fray of the back-and-forth letters to the editor on this newspaper. However, I did think it important enough to correct a piece of misinformation floating about out there to write today.

At the last School Board meeting, the Board approved many (many) purchase orders, most of which are annual contracts or retainers.

I’m fairly certain no one out there believes that, for instance, the Culver City Unified School District spends $140,000 a month (especially during the month of July, when summer school is in session) on milk. However, somehow, both Ms. Copeland and Mr. Zirgulis wrote letters to this newspaper indicating they are clearly under the mistaken impression that there is a particular law firm to which the School District is paying legal fees of $100,000 per month.

I would like to assure them, and the general public, that that amount reflects the approval of an annual retainer for this law firm’s services.

Repetition does not make something so, but sometimes if well-intended folks read something often enough, they may start to believe it. Thus, I write simply to clarify this (hopefully unintentional) misunderstanding before it takes on a life of its own.

Ms. Paspalis, a member of the School Board, may be contacted at paspalis@earthlink.net