[img]1792|right|Councilman Clarke||no_popup[/img]As a candidate for the City Council last year, I made a point of talking to residents, whether door-to-door or at candidate forums and coffees, about the advantages Culver City offers, and why it is such a great place to live and work.
We have fabulous weather, a thriving downtown, great parks, close-knit residential neighborhoods, outstanding cultural and recreational activities, safe streets, close access to public transit and excellent response times from our police and fire services.
Equally important is the quality of our Culver City schools. This is especially true for the Millennials of Generation Y, the young adults who are part of Culver City’s burgeoning creative community. They are key to our economic revitalization. Many are part of young families. They want to settle in affordable communities—like Culver City—with good public services and high-quality schools.
The educational opportunities provided by Culver City schools are outstanding. Such a claim is verified by the high scores our students achieve on standardized tests and the high level of placement and accomplishment of our graduates in college.
Whereas the quality of education is outstanding, the classrooms themselves, and the buildings housing them, are in bad shape, desperately in need of repair. Perception can be stronger than reality. The perception of those looking to settle in Culver City may be that our schools are not very good because they don’t look good.
I recently attended a community workshop where the condition of our schools was discussed in detail. The problems go way beyond how our schools look from the outside. Classrooms, bathrooms, drinking foundations all need significant repairs to bring them up to health and safety codes to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Just at a Glance
Major upgrades are needed for plumbing, electrical wiring and heating and air conditioning units. Playground surfaces are cracked. Robert Frost Auditorium, at the high school, could use a facelift that would make it more usable and attractive not only for the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts but for outside groups to rent the facility.
Then there is the Natarorium.
What should be done to restore it as an indoor swimming pool or convert it into a multi-purpose building?
Something.
As an elected official in Culver City, I want to ensure that Culver City remains a great location, safe to live and work here. That was Harry Culver’s vision in creating our city. It remains a towering vision today. Investing in our schools is vital to maintaining our quality of life, to protecting the values of our homes, businesses and properties.
I hope that the Culver City Unified School District staff and the School Board will place a bond measure on the ballot to refurbish our school facilities at the earliest time. The survey conducted by the School District indicated that 67 percent of the respondents would support a bond measure, well above the necessary 55 percent passage threshold. Delaying a vote only would add to the perception we don’t value education in Culver City. That is one perception we don’t want to become a reality.
City Councilman Clarke may be contacted at jimbclarke@gmail.com
