Letters to the editor

Ocean View School District leaders are not being responsible.

What can be done about the out-of-control OVSD and the district

superintendent?

A big question is how could the board have voted intelligently to

approve the middle school gymnasium/auditoriums on Tuesday night? The

almost inch-thick responses to the public letters regarding the

California Environmental Quality Act Initial Study/Mitigated Negative

Declarations for each school site were not even printed and ready until

Monday night for board members and the public on Tuesday morning.

The Board had received letters not only from an attorney hired to

review the CEQA Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declarations, but also

from an experienced CEQA consultant that Neighborhoods for Education

First had hired, the city of Fountain Valley and the Huntington Beach

City Planner’s Office. All cited serious oversights and omissions in the

report, yet the voted was 4-1 in favor of the seriously flawed proposal.

They were even told publicly by their lawyer before they voted that

they had the choice of voting no, voting yes, or continuing the issue for

further study. Those who were at the meeting can attest to the arrogance

and downright rudeness of the board.

In an additional brazen display of abuse of power, the board voted to

grant Superintendent Tarwater the authority to “award contracts for

public works and approve all change orders related to such public works

required by the district during the months of July and August, 2001,” due

to summer vacation schedules. “The board of trustees’ ratification of the

action would be requested within 60 days.”

This is questionable! Does this mean that contracts can be awarded and

the board can rubber stamp them later? What happens to checks and

balances? The school district should, as usual, make slow decisions with

consensus of opinion. Why, with a system in place, did he need this power

now? Power should not change during the summer and items can be tabled.

Board members need to know when they campaign to sit on the board, that

it entails a full commitment: fall, winter, spring and summer! Even, and

especially when big juicy gym contracts are coming up!

Helene Schnorr

Huntington Beach