Scott Zeidman, the only veteran among the School Board contenders, is the outlier in the field, the candidate who doesn’t need a script, a crib sheet or anyone in the back of the room flashing signals.
At his latest meet ‘n greet at his business partner-brother’s home near Ballona Creek, Mr. Zeidman stood in the driveway to welcome visitors while kids played football on the front lawn, a typical Zeidman family scene.
Question: As you move around the community, do you find that debate over the four capital improvements projects — heatedly argued at the last Board meeting — is riveting residents?
“No. The centerpiece topic is misinformation out there that people have not understood.
“What I am hearing is that we are spending eight out of 12 million dollars on a football field. That is not even close to the truth.
“The way it works is, we want to put a new field on, one point two million.
“But if we do that, we have to upgrade our stands. Our stands are not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant.
“We have at least two spectators every game in wheelchairs who cannot see the game. It’s impossible to see the game unless you carry the person up in the stands. That is not correct.
“The state says if you are going to put a new field in, you have to upgrade your stands.
“If you are going to upgrade your stands, you also have to upgrade your restrooms, which are not ADA-compliant, and you need to upgrade your snack bar.
“It’s a domino effect,” Mr. Zeidman said.
“That is how a one point two million project turns into anywhere between three and four million dollars.
“That is the bad news.
“The good news is the state says if you are going to spend four million dollars on athletic facilities, we will match it.
“Not exactly, but close.
“Now the thought is, we can get four free if we spend four. If the money comes in.
“But we have to use it for athletics, not for anything else.
“Now the thought is, this is a great deal. Still leaves us money for solar if we want to do it, and money for the elevators (high school and Middle School), which we have to do, and still leaves us money for the Robert Frost Auditorium.
“Once I explain that to people,” said Mr. Zeidman, as if he had just illumined an uncomplicated legalism, “it makes sense to them.
“Having a Mom in a wheelchair for three years before she passed, the ADA is so important. It is so unfair when we don’t have the facilities available for everybody.”
