Bits and Pieces 48

I apologized to Councilman Brian Campbell for using his viewed Email addresses he provided in error by not listing them in a "Bcc" line on an outgoing Email.

The Email was about Measure M which is a measure dealing with the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District, (PVPUSD).

I used those addresses that one time to create a 'Reply All' Email from me to address a very important issue for those of us paying property taxes in the 'Eastview' area of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, (RPV).

My main point I wanted to get accross to those Emailed residents who don't live in Eastview is that while 'our' (Eastview living-PVPUSD schools attending) kids mostly attend PVPUSD schools rather than LAUSD schools, their parents and neighbors in Eastview have their portions of education monies collected via property taxes, going into Los Angeles Unified School District coffers and NOT PVPUSD coffers.

It is true and should be stated that Eastview school students attending PVPUSD schools allow for the state of California providing the funding going to PVPUSD schools, but for property tax payers like me, our dollars go into LAUSD because we don't have children attending either district.

Back when annexation of the Eastview area was discussed, some people considered joining either Lomita or San Pedro.

But when the vote for annexation happened (I was not living in the area at that time) the majority of Eastview residents voted to become part of RPV.

At first, being part of RPV did not mean 'our' kids could attend PVPUSD schools. After some years, 'our' kids gained and still have the option, determined by their parents, to attend either district.

I think you already know where the vast majority of 'our' kids attend schools.

But what you know yet other residents on 'The Hill' might not know is that Eastview voters have no right to vote for PVPUSD Board members or are allowed to vote on PVPUSD measures.

What many still can't or won't acknowledge is that since 'we' send 'our' kids to PVPUSD schools in such numbers, schools like Dapplegray Elementary, Miraleste I.S. and Palos Verdes H.S. are open today.

That benefits all parents and students dealing with all PVPUSD schools and all lessening of most overcrowding conditions in those schools, when finances allow for that.

The property tax dollars I pay, while living in my home, have their education portion going to LAUSD when I would much rather prefer that those dollars go to PVPUSD.

I don't get to vote for members of the PVPUSD Board and because I live in Eastview, I will not get to vote for or against Measure M, the subject of Councilman Campbell's mass Email.

I know many current and former members of the PVPUSD school board would love to have our dollars flowing into that district. I suppose they would not mind Eastview voters voting on measures dealing with schools 'our' kids attend, or at least I hope they would not mind.

In our history there were PVPUSD Board members who wished to exclude 'our' kids from attending 'their' schools, but they apparently didn't realize that 'our' impact on 'their' district would be as great as it is now.

We need our tax dollars going to PVPUSD schools because we must have a say in how the schools and district we send so many students to, is run.

We aren't taxed to the correct district and so we have no true representation in Eastview towards PVPUSD.

As just about every reader of this blog knows, there remains two LAUSD campuses within the limits of the Eastview area of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Folks, there is nothing we can possibly do about that, for a very very long time. It will probably come to pass that the upkeep of Dodson Middle School will become so expensive that LAUSD will eventually shut it down.

The Mira Vista neighborhood sees a large majority of students attending Crestwood Street Elementary School coming into and out of RPV, while not residing in any portion of RPV.

Crestwood was my elementary school and its student test scores are nice and high and equal some other PVPUSD elementary schools.

Crestwood has a good campus and the best thing I can hope for is that LAUSD and PVPUSD come to some arrangement to where LAUSD students would be moved to 7Th Street Elementary School, Taper Avenue Elementary, or Park Western Place Elementary School so PVPUSD could take over that site to ease crowding at Dapplegray, Mira Catalina, and/or a few other local PVPUSD elementary schools. This is not implausible.

The 'elephant in the room' is and will continue to be Dodson Middle School.

The Rolling Hills Riviera neighborhood sees up to 600 students bussed into and out of their area of RPV without any real compensation by LAUSD, near that school site.

Neighbors of that school have had to seek parking restrictions in front of their own homes because of Dodson being used to help relieve over crowding at other LAUSD middle schools.

We are now seeing busing to these two schools because of over crowding at other schools even during a lengthening time frame where we are watching student enrollment within LAUSD shrinking.

What I find worse is that Dodson is home to at least one magnet program that sees magnet students being transported into and out of RPV by parents and others who don't live in the nearby area.

Magnet programs are fine by me, but NOT on a school site within the limits of another school district and where the truly vast majority of students attending that school do not come from homes within RPV or the "three" other cities commonly cited as being on 'The Hill'.

Folks, this is not a busing for racial reasons for me and I also attended Rudecinda Floracinda Sepulveda de Dodson Junior High School, where 'Navy kids' also attended and we saw a real 'world view' of students, which is and was not a bad thing at all (sorry Carol).

LAUSD middle schools remain over crowded in Lomita, Wilmington and other areas and I don't think the K-8 monster school is open yet in Wilmington.

My wife is one of the two library aids at Miraleste I.S. This is another reason I would like to see my property tax dollars going to better funding of PVPUSD schools, but that certainly is not the only reason.

Our one block of the street I live on now has six of the six student-age kids attending PVPUSD schools. Our seventh 'little buddy' is not yet old enough for kindergarten. He will go to Dapplegray starting in 2013.

What this illustrates to me and the parents of our block's students is that our tax dollars should go more directly to funding the schools our block's children attend. Our votes should also be used to help better educate all students in the district we send 'our' kids to.

Isn't that what democracy and representative government is all about?

Wow! It's cold! Terri and I saw snow on our local mountains when the clouds cleared up today.

Does this portend a colder and wetter late fall and winter in our community?

I'm no fan of wind and if this cold and wetter weather continues I will be pleased that local fire danger will probably be diminished. But it may also mean that the grasses that will grow tall will become more of a threat when the weather warms to hotness and we get into a long dry spell.

I don't ever wish to view again that terrible glow over the top of San Pedro Hill we all watched, not all that long ago.

Redondo Beach Police have stated they cannot afford to send Santa Claus out this year, to greet kids throughout that city. I hope that is not the case with our Lomita Sheriffs.

I think I will check with the Lomita station to see if there is a fund folks can contribute to to see that what looks to be happening in Redondo Beach doesn't happen to our communities.

Christmas or 'Holiday' shopping has begun, not in Earnest but in stores throughout the area. Whatever you want to call it is fine by me but I hope you consider shops and stores in RPV when looking for gifts for whatever you do or do not celebrate.

And while you are shopping in RPV, please consider dining there, too.

Remember, Coco's is in RPV but Carrow's is not. We have lots of great eateries in our city and now we have four supermarkets here, too.