Part III
Re “Super Jaffe Talks About Culver Park’s Parking Lot Move”
Digging for sunshine and for answers behind Culver Park High School’s forced evacuation from its historic home in Sunkist Park, sharing a campus with El Marino Language School:
It is not as if civic leaders rang bells and ordered a celebratory parade starring blaring marching bands and fancy-stepping drum majorettes to flood the streets of Culver City to spread the good news on the day the School Board overwhelmingly voted to dump the continuation school from its home on the verdant grounds of El Marino, into a parking lot.
Culver Park had no competition for the parking lot, no one to impress, no one to beat out for the space.
Like traditional parking lots, Culver Park’s new parking lot home, adjacent to Farragut School, is not known for its amenities. It is not known to possess any amenities.
Think transferring from Beverly Hills to a parking lot in, say, Wilmington.
No known Culver Park person has been seen clapping his hands, boasting about the downgrade.
The triggering device in what appears to be a onesided scenario:
Culver Park, supposedly – but not really – an equal partner on the property, was tossed out of its home because El Marino needed/desired the continuation school’s classrooms to accommodate expansion to full-day kindergarten classes, an upgrade from the present half-day.
(It is ironic that Culver Park’s high school classes also are a half-day.)
What Announcement?
If there was a District announcement heralding Culver Park’s demotion, it must have been mumbled. Many persons seem to have missed it.
When and what happened?
School Board President Karlo Silbiger told the newspaper this afternoon:
“We voted to approve full-day kindergarten at El Marino and move Culver Park temporarily to the bungalows to be re-evaluated in the fall.”
However, the motion cited in the approved minutes for the March 13 School Board meeting made no mention of Culver Park.
The minutes say that on a motion by Prof. Patricia Siever and a second by Kathy Paspalis, the Board approved a full-day kindergarten for El Marino, starting with the new school term, without an allusion to Culver Park.
Third-year School Board member Ms. Paspalis said today that ownership could not be traced to a single person who is responsible for igniting the momentum that convinced the School District and the School Board to support El Marino’s plea for a full-day kindergarten – at the expense of Culver Park.
Ms. Paspalis repeated this afternoon what she said at the meeting, and the statement below is taken from the minutes of the pivotal March 13 meeting:
“Ms. Paspalis stated that it is way past time to make El Marino (kindergarten) fulltime. (She said) Culver Park will be fine in the bungalows, and it could be a great space.”
Here is the full text of the minutes dealing with this topic:
“Ms. Pumilia, Principal at EI Marino, spoke about the submission of signatures in support of full-day kindergarten at EI Marino. Leslie Johnson stated that she is grateful that a location is still being looked for. These students deserve a school that they can be proud of. Courtney Stevenson stated that the meeting has been overwhelming. She is open to the idea of moving the school and spoke about the pros of Culver Park's current location. David Mielke offered support to Culver Park teachers and students. He provided the Board with some of the history of the school. Ms. Goldberg stated that the continuation school move pains her. This is not something we can move on too quickly. Ms. Chardiet thinks that everyone is committed to the well being of the students. We cannot stop progressing because of a small minority of students. She stated that the District will have a great space for Culver Park. Ms. Paspalis stated that it is way past time to make El Marino full time. Culver Park will be fine in the bungalows, and it could be a great space. Mr. Silbiger stated that there is absolutely no question in his mind that your environment affects how you learn. He listed some of the issues that he would like to see addressed and he wanted it to be made very clear to Culver Park that the move to the bungalows would be temporary. He would like it to be for one year while other locations are being looked at. Ms. Siever stated that if other locations are going to be looked at, then she will vote for this item. It was moved by Ms. Siever and seconded by Ms. Paspalis that the Board approve Full-Day Kindergarten at EI Marino Language School Beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. The motion was unanimously approved.”
Returning to the present, Ms. Paspalis said the state has been penalizing the School District because El Marino’s K classes are a half-day while all other District schools offer full day.
Question: What does penalizing mean?
“Districts receive a certain amount of money (about $6500 from the state) for Average Daily Attendance. There also is, like, a penalty. If your entire district is at half-day kindergartens, you don’t get the penalty. If some classes are full and some are half, those at half get $11,000 less, per class. That particular elementary school has six kindergarten classes. So we were being penalized to the tune of over $66,000 a year.
“It was really time to end that, and to provide the full-day kindergarten opportunity that we were providing for all of the other kids in the District.”
(To be continued)
