Results tagged “Briggs Fundamental Elementary School” from Chino Valley Now
Parents expressed disappointment Tuesday after a newly elected school board member announced he was recusing himself from discussions about next fall's opening of the Preserve school.
James Na, who was elected to the board in November, accepted campaign contributions from Chino Development Corp., the school's developer.
The developer, a member of the Lewis Group of Cos., filed legal action against the Chino Valley Unified School District after board members in November voted that the school have open enrollment.
Lewis officials said the action went against a deal that indicated the school would open as a resident-only neighborhood school.
Several Preserve parents -- who attended a public-comment period to discuss the litigation prior to Tuesday's closed-session district meeting -- said they believed they had Na's support.
"So I have great sympathy with Preserve residents, but this is the announcement I have to make today," said Na, who declined further comment.
Randall Lewis, executive vice president of Lewis Operating Co., said he did not know exactly how much Na received from his company.
"It was probably a few thousand dollars," he said.
Lewis said he was surprised by the district's move to bar Na from discussions about the issue.
"It's not unusual in California that candidates get support, and we'd like to understand what the district policy is, and we'd like to make sure that the district policy is being applied fairly to all the board members, on all of the issues," Lewis said.
Mark Glaudini -- a Preserve parent in opposition to the district's decision for open enrollment -- said Na should be allowed to take part in the issue.
Glaudino in November unsuccessfully ran for a board seat.
"I'm kind of shocked at James Na not being able to take part when president (Sylvia) Orozco and (board member) Michael Calta both have children at the Briggs school and they're allowed to vote on the issue and that directly impacts their kids," Glaudini said.
"But because he accepted campaign contributions, then he can't have a vote or say on what's going on with the Preserve situation. I think that's ridiculous."
Lewis Group hopes to overturn the decision -- which transplants students in the K-8 Briggs Fundamental Elementary School about 10 miles away in the northwestern part of Chino to the Preserve community in southern Chino.
A number of Briggs parents had opposed the decision because of transportation and enrollment space issues.
Preserve parents and area residents said they were also worried about enrollment space, decreased property values as well as increased vehicule traffic that would come with the operation of an open-enrollment school.
"We have enough children that will attend the school," Preserve resident Sejal Gangula said. "As far as bringing in kids from another community, it lowers our property value because it's supposed to be a neighborhood school."
A major regional developer has threatened to sue the school district over its decision to open the new school in the Preserve for students from throughout the district.
The threat of legal action by the Chino Development Corp., a member of the Lewis Group of Cos., comes after the school board on Nov. 6 voted to relocate the K-8 Briggs Fundamental School to the new school in the Preserve, where it will retain the name Briggs.
"We are deeply disappointed to have to take this action. However, after months of meetings with the school board members and district staff it has become apparent that the district has chosen to disregard our contract with them to open the school as a `home school' for residents of The Preserve at Chino," said Randall Lewis, executive vice president of Lewis Operating Co.
"While we continue to be hopeful that we can reach a resolution, we are rigorously pursuing our contractual rights."
The school district responded Nov. 7.
"It is disappointing that Lewis Operating Corp. and Chino Development Corp. have gone forward with legal action," said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin. "The goal of the discussions between Chino Valley Unified School District and the developer over the past months has been one and the same - to open the school."
At issue is maintaining priority enrollment status for Preserve residents, Lewis company officials said.
After the latest school board decision, Preserve area residents will have some measure of enrollment priority for one year, though after a year, the new Briggs school will revert to an open-enrollment districtwide school of choice, with enrollment by lottery.
A second informational meeting for Briggs parents will be held at the multipurpose room at Briggs Fundamental Elementary School, 11880 Roswell Avenue, Chino, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
The Board has identified the possible relocation of the school as an option in opening the new K8 school in the Preserve neighborhood in Chino and parents have concerns ranging from enrollment to impact on students. Parents will be able to address their concerns regarding the possible Board approval of the relocation at the meeting. Superintendent Edmond Heatley is expected to address parents at the meeting.
The relocation of Briggs Fundamental Elementary School about 10 miles away to the still-unopened Preserve-area school next year is being considered by the Chino Valley Unified school board.
Some Briggs parents had suspected their school would be relocated to the Preserve in order to open the new school, but now what was once a contentious rumor is a distinct possibility.
The Preserve facility is a built but unopened school that doesn't have an official name.
Parents of children in the Preserve have been anxiously awaiting the school's opening since they moved into the new 5,400-acre community several years ago, but because of budgetary constraints and a shortfall of students, the school has remained closed.
A point of contention with some Briggs parents is the question as to whether the new Briggs school at the Preserve would open as a districtwide school of choice or as a neighborhood school just for children who live in the Preserve.
"According to the mitigation agreement, the Preserve school is to be a neighborhood school, so the only way I would be in favor of Briggs being transplanted would be for our school to be a neighborhood school," said Mark Glaudini, a parent and school board candidate who has been vocal about opening the new Preserve school.
The school district's interpretation of the agreement, however, differs with Glaudini's.
"As party to the mitigation agreement, the district is of the belief it is not beholden to the Preserve as a neighborhood school," said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin.
The board discussed the possibility of keeping the Preserve school as a districtwide school of choice, as well as the possibility Preserve-area students would be given priority enrollment and then school-of-choice lottery enrollment would be opened up to current Briggs students and their siblings.
Andrea Contreras, a Briggs parent, was concerned about such an arrangement because she said at some point in the future there wouldn't be any room left for students outside of the Preserve.
"They would be closing Briggs for the benefit of the Preserve students, and after all of the hard work that the Briggs students have done, it will be for nothing," she said. "There won't be any room for anybody else."
Another idea considered was to consolidate Los Serranos and Glenmeade elementary schools, which both have low enrollment.
Still, Gobin added, consolidation of the schools would not enable the school in The Preserve to open without deficit spending.
Board member Fred Youngblood Jr. said he favored the Briggs option over the consolidation option because it was less disruptive to staff, but board President Michael Calta said the board may weigh more than one option in its decision.
Gobin said it was possible the board could choose both options. The issue comes back to the board on Nov. 6 for a vote.
An informational meeting for Briggs parents will be held at the multipurpose room at Briggs Fundamental Elementary School, 11880 Roswell Avenue, Chino, tonight at 6 p.m. The Board has identified the possible relocation of the school as an option in opening the new K8 school in the Preserve neighborhood in Chino and parents have concerns ranging from enrollment to impact on students. Parents will be able to address their concerns regarding the possible Board approval of the relocation at the meeting. Briggs principal Michael Harrell said he plans on submitting the concerns to the district after the meeting.
Superintendent Edmond Heatley will also hold an informational meeting with parents regarding the Briggs option at the school at 5 p.m. on Nov. 5.
The 4th graders of Briggs Fundamental School in Chino Participated in an educational tour of Waste Management's El Sobrante Landfill last week to elarn about waste management and the importance of recycling.
"The environment is in all subjects, including Math, Scoence, Social Studies, Art and many other subjects and couple it with hands-on outdoor classroom learning, like our tour of the El Sobrante Landfill, really solidifies the lessons taught in the classroom," said Luz Conner, 4th grade teacher at Briggs Fundamental School.
Since 2000, Waste Management's El Sobrante Landfill has been providing to local schools an outdoor education program that gives students, scouts and the community at large hands-on experience about waste, recycling and environmental stewardship. The goal of the program is to increase the public's understanding of the critical services and infrastructure the company provides to protect the health and safety of the community and the environment.
"It's important for kids to know what happens to trash, and there's no better way to learn than to take a tour of our facility," said Damon De Frates, district manager for El Sobrante Landfill. "We hope they come away from their tour with a deeper understanding about their role in keeping their environment clean."
"Schools are the perfect place to instill the value of natural resources and the importance of minimizing waste. Tours to El Sobrante Landfill provide learning opportunities that can produce life-long recyclers and future environmental leaders," said Mike Harrell, principal at Briggs Fundamental School. "Younger students often carry messages home to their parents and may motivate the entire family to recycle and protect our environment."
To accommodate the entire fourth grade class, the tours took place last Monday, Tuesday and Friday. El Sobrante Landfill is located at 10910 Dawson Canyon Rd. Corona, CA 92883
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