Star Prep Academy Lives up to Its First Name by Gaining a New Life

Feeling vindicated, Academy founder Katya Bozzi was ecstatic that her school achieved born-again status. “There are no bad guys in this,” she said, shiningly. “Why do people always think there have to be bad guys? We are not rabble-rousers. I love Culver City. This is my hometown. I want to stay here. I have always been treated well here. We have a good reputation throughout the state,” said the author of the unique Star education program. Star is an innovative amalgam of environmental and academic wisdom that, according to Ms. Bozzi, employs a thousand persons and has been adopted by 42 California schools.

What Strategy?

If the Star Prep Academy designed a strategy going into the Redevelopment Agency meeting, it must have been in someone’s head. It could not possibly have been written down. The game plan meandered. It just sort of happened. Academy backers packed Council Chambers with scores of their people. This is a tactic that works some of the time with the lady and gentlemen on the dais. After about two dozen mostly pro-Academy public opinions had been aired by residents, Agency member Scott Malsin promptly introduced a motion to give the school another chance. Mayor Gary Silbiger enthusiastically joined in. Agency member Carol Gross firmly demurred. When it was Vice Mayor Alan Corlin’s turn, he conditionally agreed with the pro side. That clinched the deal. Agency Chair Steve Rose and Ms. Gross remained ardent in their opposition.

Could It be Forever?

Assured of continuing at least for a few more months, if it complies with the city’s latest set of stern-faced directives, the Academy may even have won a permanent reprieve. The students, the parents and the educational leaders of the Star Prep Academy, which was on life support until hours ago, staged a brilliant comeback last night before the compassionate Redevelopment Agency. Through impassioned rhetoric, heartfelt pleading, and widely demonstrated energy and loyalty, they persuaded the Redevelopment Agency — which is not always resolute — to shelve its plans for a mercy killing of the Star Prep Academy. As this is written, the tiny 45-student academy is on winter break, which just became rosier.

Postscript

If they made a screenplay out of this decision, said one wit in the audience, it would have to be a silent movie. No one could recapture the zigzagging rhetoric. Mr. Corlin, the Vice Mayor, probably has been the Star Prep Academy’s best friend the last 5 months, applying verbal artificial resuscitation every time the school looked ready to wheeze its last. Mr. Corlin was the tiebreaker vote. Friend or no, after the meeting, he had no-nonsense words for the Academy that could make some wonder why he voted for the school in the first place. He acknowledged that as of this morning, the school is no closer to complying with city business and safety regulations than it was when the cease-and-desist order was given on Aug. 21. “The school has done nothing,” the Vice Mayor said. “They have made no effort to comply. They hinged everything on this meeting. They rolled the dice. They gambled. They got lucky.” Backing away slightly, Mr. Corlin said he understood the school’s seeming reluctance to fastidiously follow the complex of regulations involving extensive groundwork and paperwork. “They were in a catch-22 situation,” he said. “Why should they spend anything on the building if they weren’t going to be granted a conditional use permit, which they have to have? If they don’t do it this time, they are done.”