Re “ACLU Is in a Waiting Mode”
An ACLU executive said this morning that a responding letter from just-retired Supt. Patti Jaffe fell short of a rounded, informative reply to the civil rights group’s questions about the disputed transfer of the campus of Culver Park High School.
At stake is the debatable fitness of the continuation school’s new parking lot home, behind Farragut School. The aging bungalows on the grounds are undergoing thorough cleansing this summer in anticipation of Culver Park’s arrival in September.
The next move, said Brooks Allen, Director of Education Advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union, is the School District’s.
Eileen Carroll, Interim Superintendent for the balance of this month, until newly hired Dave LaRose starts on Aug. 1, said she had not seen return correspondence from the ACLU. Therefore, she could not comment.
After being invited into the argument by Culver Park figures he declined to identify, Mr. Allen dispatched a letter to Ms. Jaffe two weeks ago, in the waning days of term as Super. The five-paragraph challenged the fitness of the venue for the 16- to 18-year-olds in the 67-member student body.
Having digested the contents of Ms. Jaffe’s reply, “we still have questions,” Mr. Allen told the newspaper.
“Her letter didn’t provide a lot of detail although we were pleased to see they are taking health and safety issues seriously. We will be seeking additional information, more details, about how they plan to do that.”
To a question about the ACLU potentially seeking to delay or block the move from the campus of El Marino Language School, Mr. Allen said:
“I can’t speculate to that right now. That lies in the hands of the District at the moment, and their assessment of whether they can assure that all of the health and safety issues have been sufficiently addressed, that the relevant (Education Code) regulations have been followed.
“It lies within their decision-making process.”
Meantime, Mr. Allen said, the ACLU will be watching closely with trained eyes.
