Is big really better?
That's the question everyone's asking in La Verne. I'm blogging from a City Council meeting in progress right now at La Verne City Hall where residents are out in full force both for and against Lutheran High School's expansion plan.
The school has big ambitions: they want to build new classrooms, a new library, renovate their gym and construct a state-of-the-art football field. But residents say it's WAY too big for their liking. We've gone through about two hours of testimony so far of speakers on both side of the fence (there are more than 125 people present).
It seems the interested parties either believe - or don't believe - that bigger means better. School officials say a bigger, more premier campus will mean more students and better facilities.
Opponents say bigger just means bigger parking and traffic headaches, and that the school doesn't need all their asking for to provide a quality educational environment.
Any comments?
Look for more in tomorrow's paper. Also, look out later for a post on the final vote.
A question comes to mind that you may or may not be able to answer: Did Lutheran or the impacted neighborhood indicate what, if any discussions took place b/t them as this plan started taking hold? In other words, did Lutheran just announce the expansion plan without talking to the neighborhood?
Dog Spot,
I have an answer for you, though I don't know how much it is going to help:
Lutheran officials say that they did inform some residents of their plans beforehand and even asked for their input in the initial stages.
But residents claim otherwise. They have said both the school and the city did not properly inform them of the expansion proposal and some residents have even gone so far as to say that the city may have tried to keep this "hush hush."
Tania,
Thanks for the answer to my question, and yes it does help clear things up a bit.