[CPEO-MEF] Santa Ana School Districts Reject Tustin's Offer of Alleged Lethall

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

CPEO apologizes for sending duplicate postings to both newsgroup.




Press Release Santa Ana School Districts Reject Tustin's Offer of Alleged
Lethally Toxic Land

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2001--Today the Santa Ana
Unified School District (SAUSD) and the Rancho Santiago Community College
District (RSCCD) announced that the City of Tustin has tried to unload upon
the children of Santa Ana, some of the most contaminated land at the former
marine base.

Based on preliminary studies conducted by Dr. Denise Clendening of Arcadis,
Geraghty & Miller, the scientific expert evaluating the environmental
analyses, the districts have concluded that the site is so polluted that
cleanup activities will cost millions of dollars, take years to perform,
and would likely never meet strict state standards for schools.

Disheartened by the City of Tustin's bad-faith negotiations, the districts
and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) today are
filing a Title VI discrimination lawsuit in Federal Court against the City
of Tustin for violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Tustin's actions
constitute unlawful discrimination against students.

According to Dr. Al Mijares, superintendent of SAUSD: ``We have negotiated
in good faith, never losing sight of our goal to provide the best learning
environment for our students. At this time, the quality of the land for the
learning environment becomes the primary issue over the issue of quantity.
This is a turn of events we could not have anticipated. We continue to hope
for a satisfactory agreement, but we will press on with the legislative and
legal avenues open to us.''

Dr. Edward Hernandez, chancellor of RSCCD, originally conceived of the
Learning Village concept, which was accepted by the Department of Education
for the 100 acres within the SAUSD boundaries. ``From its earliest
inception, this center was intended to offer education for all, from the
very young to older adults,'' said Hernandez. ``The plan was to operate it
collaboratively, offering sequenced programs to integrate K-12, adult
education and community college curriculum.''

Background

In 1994, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) granted the RSCCD, SAUSD,
Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) and South Orange County
Community College District (SOCCCD) 100 acres at the closing Marine Corps
Air Station located in Tustin for an innovative learning environment known
as the ``Learning Village.'' During subsequent planning, the City of
Tustin, acting as the Local Reuse Authority, ignored the DOE grant. The
entire 100 acres went to SOCCCD, though that district never indicated a
need for all 100 acres, according to a Jan. 2, 2001 LA Times article
(``High Tech Plans for Hangar''). This move ignored the fact that SAUSD,
comprised of 98% ethnic minority students and RSCCD, with more than 50%
ethnic minority students, face some of the worst overcrowding issues in the
state. After several months of intense negotiations between the city and
the two Santa Ana districts, Tustin abruptly ended negotiations,
communicating through their Washington lawyer that they had done enough by
offering a ``compromise'' of tainted land and $20 million as their final
offer. The districts will now pursue legal, state and federal efforts to
secure their original DOE grant. Land

The Santa Ana districts include approximately 10% of the base within their
district boundaries. This property, located near the intersection of Red
Hill and Barranca, formerly was primarily agricultural land and does not
pose the environmental hazards found elsewhere on the base. Within a 2-mile
radius of the Red Hill/Barranca site are 7,000 students and within a 3-mile
radius are 24,000 students belonging to SAUSD.

A critical issue is the strict California standards for toxic substances at
school sites. New schools face far stricter standards than residential
development, while commercial development faces far less stringent
standards. According to Clendening's report, one of the substances found on
the site offered is Trichloroethene (TCE). ``TCE evaporates from surface
water, so it is commonly found as a vapor in the air. TCE has been found to
evaporate less easily from the soil, where it may absorb to particles and
remain for a long time. Breathing large amounts of TCE may cause impaired
heart function, coma and death. Breathing small amounts for short periods
of time may cause headaches, lung irritation, dizziness, poor coordination
and difficulty concentrating.''

By contrast, cleanup requirements for commercial development are not nearly
as strict. The land Tustin is allocating for the schools could be cleaned
to commercial development standards. ``We cannot fathom why the City of
Tustin, knowing the toxic issues on the base, would develop a land use plan
that allocates the cleanest property to the uses that require the least
environmental cleanup and places Santa Ana's children and teachers at risk
on highly toxic land,'' stated attorney Ed Connor. ``The only conclusion we
can draw is that the City of Tustin does not want the largely Hispanic
children from Santa Ana in their city.''

Contact:

SAUSD Lucy Araujo-Cook, 714/558-5555 or 714/745-0963 or RSCCD Joan Barnes,
714/480-7500 or Waters & Faubel Meg Waters, 949/718-4977 or 949/584-4977

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~