For late arrivals at Scott Zeidman’s Meet ‘n Greet on Bentley Avenue yesterday afternoon, there was no doubt that he was running in next month’s School Board election as the lone incumbent.
Just one sentence along, listeners knew, whether they agreed or not, that he understood the complex nervous system of the Culver City Unified School District.
They learned about the heavily government-influenced funding score — how and why money only can be spent in a certain direction, no matter how badly it is needed elsewhere.
Ideally Positioned
After four years of virtually co-captaining the Board with his pal and occasional adversary Steve Gourley, Mr. Zeidman sails into the present election in the most desirable position, as President of the School Board, the face and often the main influencing force of the Board.
Casually attired yesterday, always his preference, he found a comfortable cushion on the living room couch of Desmond and Lisa Lewis Burns, and patiently was explaining to a group of curious voters about the four capital projects so heatedly debated at last week’s Board meeting.
Mr. Zeidman was telling them about an $11 million Capital Improvement fund that only can be channeled to capital projects, no matter how much other materials may be needed.
“At this point, we don’t need to build another school,” he said. “We have been sitting on this money for about a decade. We could build a new library, for example, but we could not put books in it. We could rebuild the Natatorium, but we couldn’t pay for the water, the chemicals or the staffing. We could refurbish Robert Frost (Auditorium), which we will. We need to build two elevators. “There is no elevator in the Middle School or the high school, and there are children who need an elevator for various reasons. We are going to do that.
Digging Deeper
“Among the major capital projects we are looking at are Robert Frost, the elevators, and also redoing the athletic facilities and making a beautiful sports complex that will allow us to use it more hours, allow the public to use it, and allow us to rent it out. The fourth is looking at solar, modifying our electricity, to lower our electrical charges and to be better for the environment. I don’t know exactly where we will do it because there are a number of proposals.
“We are looking at the Middle School and the high school. However, with the athletic facility, we designed solar carports. So the cars will be covered. There are many issues about what will and will not work, but those are the four.”
The intimate conversation turned personal when a grandmother said, “What if someone asked what you do during the day?”
Turning a Career Corner
“I practice law,” Mr. Zeidman said. “But that is a part-time job. When my elder son was born (12 years ago), I was flying across the country as I had been the first few years I was in the legal profession. I was litigating cases in different states. I would wake up in Nebraska one morning, Hawaii the next.
“My expertise required I do that, a very small niche. Only a couple hundred attorneys did what I did. When there was a catastrophic injury somewhere, that is where the lawsuit was.
“Mostly, what I did was propane gas litigation.
“It paid very well, and it was kind of cool flying everywhere. I got to eat well and stayed at beautiful hotels.
“But when my son Jason was born, I had to make a decision:
“Do I want to get paid really well and see my son whenever I could?
“Or should I take a huge paycut, coach Little League and see him grow up?”
Responding to a further question, Mr. Zeidman said he practices law on the side.
“My major job is, my brother and I have a business that sells slot machines and parts to international casinos. We have 25 employees, and we have been doing that for 30 years.
“We just reached over a hundred million in sales for the last 30 years.
“That is what I do on a daily basis,” said Mr. Zeidman, “which means that at 4 o’clock, if I want to coach Little League, I coach Little League. I have been able to coach our Little League All-Star team the past two years. My younger son is 7, and I will be his baseball manager next year. I can have quality time with my kids.”
