Save Daniel Webster Middle School's Field

Wednesday Meeting Cancelled!

2010-04-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

Due to the overwhelming number of calls, letters, emails, and faxes from our Westside community, the district has taken Webster off the docket!

Thank you to everyone who participated--we could not have done this without your support! YOU made this happen. It is because of you and your actions that our students can continue to play on our wonderful field bus-fume free.

Thank you!

A Letter from Scot H. Graham

2010-04-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

From: Graham, Scot
Sent: Mon 4/19/2010 12:36 PM
To: Wallace, Kendra
Cc: Elam, Nicole
Subject: Webster Middle School Communication

Dear Principal Kendra Wallace
Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the Board of Education’s April 13, 2010, action to relocate some District functions currently housed in leased space; in particular the possible relocation of the bus parking to the Webster Middle School campus. Since your concerns relate to the leasing and asset management of District facilities, Superintendent of Schools Ramon C. Cortines and Board member Zimmer requested that I provide you with information on this important issue. First let me assure you that while the Board of Education did approve the above mentioned action, it is the termination of the lease expense at the Alameda Street Bus Garage that is of critical importance. It will be nearly two years before the actual relocation of the bus depot to a District-owned site(s) occurs. The identification of Webster was a result of a careful quantitative analysis. While the rationale behind terminating the lease may be based on simple economics, we have been reminded just how much more than a pure financial analysis we undertake when considering the placement of the displaced administrative function on District owned property. Board member Zimmer spoke most succinctly when he said,” The vote on Tuesday authorized this action, but it is not cast in stone. We will now start our process of full investigation to understand all the implications of this placement before any plan is implemented.”

Although the District continues to lease third party properties to deliver non-school functions, in early January, 2009, in an effort to minimize burdens on the District’s General Fund, the Superintendent directed staff to reduce the District’s reliance on leased space. The aggressive management of these leases will allow LAUSD to reduce nearly $20 million dollars from the annual lease budget in the next few years. In fact, by the end of this fiscal year, the District will have decreased the number of leased spaces by 75 percent and the annual expenditures for leases by nearly 20 percent. The relocation of the bus depot to District-owned space is necessary to further decrease the District’s reliance on leases and reduce the deficit.

The nearly two years that remain before the bus depot needs to be relocated provides the opportunity to further analyze alternative sites and both Superintendent Cortines and Board member Zimmer have instructed staff to do just that.

We look forward to working with you to determine the best site(s) for the relocation of the bus depot. I assure you no final decision will be made without meaningful community input. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at: scot.graham@lausd.net or 213.241.6123.

Scot H. Graham
Los Angeles Unified School District
Facilities Services Division

Facebook Page

2010-04-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

One of our amazing sixth grade scholars started a "Save the Webster PE Field" Facebook page. If you'd like to be in touch with other community members who are as upset about this topic as we are, join us there!

Town Hall Meeting

2010-04-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

We will have a town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 21, at 6:00 pm in the auditorium at Webster to discuss this horrendous issue. Webster's address is:

11330 West Graham Place

Los Angeles, CA 90064

Please come and let your voice be heard! Don't let our children run a lap in bus fumes!

A Letter from Steve Zimmer

2010-04-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

From: "Zimmer, Steven"
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:51:21
To: "Mrs. Wallace"
Subject: RE: Webster parking lot

To the Webster Community:

I want to express my sincere apologies for my vote this Tuesday regarding the possible placement of a bus parking lot on the Webster campus. As a former teacher and community organizer, I understand the outrage at not only the fact of this placement but the complete lack of community consultation. Although I believed there had been a community vetting process, I know now that this did not take place. I have no excuse for not calling and checking this myself. Usually, my office is diligent in doing our own investigation. I have been extremely focused on the budget and somehow did not make sure this happened before I cast my vote. In other words, I blew it.

I am pained to say that now we must do this in reverse order. The vote on Tuesday authorized this action, but it is not cast in stone. We will now start our process of full investigation to understand all the implications of this placement before any plan is implemented. This will include meeting with the school and the community. I will also press the Superintendent to identify other options and alternatives. I assure each of you that there will be a chance for the Webster community to be heard in this process.

This is exactly the way we don't want LAUSD to work. We are moving towards a decentralized system that is responsive to and inclusive of all stakeholders in every school community. I commit to you that this is the way I will make sure things operate from here on out. I hope you can give our office a second chance to earn your trust and solve problems together. Please know that I fully support the improvements happening now at Webster. I am honored to work with Principal Wallace and her staff. I look forward to meeting with you in the near future to discuss this and other issues important to your school community.

Sincerely, Steve

More contact info...

2010-04-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

This was sent to Gaby Spivak, one of our amazing parents, and she sent it to me.

[Note: Gaby emailed me later in the day and wrote, ""Actually-Thanks to Cheryl Damberg for putting the list together. Thanks to everyone for jumping on this so fast. Together we can succeed! Gaby"]

Bill Rosendahl (District 11): http://cd11.lacity.org/
He is our city councilman
City Hall office:
200 N. Spring Street
Rm 415
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 473-7011 (213) 473-6926 Fax

Sest LA District Office
1645 Corinth Avenue
Room 201
West L.A., CA 90025
(310) 575-8461
(310) 575-8305 Fax
http://cd11.lacity.org/cd11_stf.htm
The hyperlink takes you to all of Rosendahl's staff to
contact

Ramon C. Cortines
Superintendent of Schools
Office of the Superintendent
333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 3307
Los Angeles, CA 90051
Tel: 213-241-7000
Fax: 213-241-8442
superintendent@lausd.net

Board of Education
333 S. Beaudry Ave.,
24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tel: 213-241-6389
Fax: 213-241-8953 or 213-481-9023

School Board Member: Ms. Tamar Galatzan District 3
(213) 241-6386

Local District 3
Michelle King, Superintendent
3000 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Tel: 310- 253-7100
Fax: 310-842-9491
(former District D office)

2.36 acres? What???

2010-04-16T10:06:00.001-07:00

Last night at the SSC meeting we learned that 2.36 acres--that's 1/3 of the P.E. field--is the actual amount of space to be taken up by busses. This was passed by unanimous vote, and to be executed by the first part of 2012.

All this at a time when DWMS needs to be focusing on the education of our students and raising our test scores--not focusing on fighting a parking lot.

Help!

2010-04-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

The LAUSD Board of Education approved, on Tuesday April 13, to pave between 1.5 and 2.0 acres of Webster's P.E. field in order to create a parking lot for 80 school busses. This was done unbeknownst to the school, unbeknownst to the neighborhood, and unbeknownst to the community.

Can you imagine the impact this will have on our community? The air pollution? Noise? Ugliness of school busses and busses driving down our streets? Not to mention that it is unethical and unconscionable to, in Los Angeles, take green grass away from children in order to create a parking lot.

Please contact Ramon Cortines, our superintendant, and Steve Zimmer, our board member, to let them know that we won't allow this to happen! You can also contact the rest of the board and let them know that it's disgraceful for them to have voted on this without asking our input by checking with the principal, faculty, and staff, polling the community, or doing any research whatsoever.

Please support us in our grass roots efforts to keep our P.E. field for our students. For more information, please email Kendra Wallace, principal of DWMS.