PARENTS' EMOTIONS RUN HIGH PLAN TO SEND KIDS TO OTHER SCHOOLS TRIGGERS AN UPROAR.Byline: CONNIE LLANOS llanos (yä`nōs), Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. Staff Writer CASTAIC -- A 60-acre plot of land sits vacant on a deserted hillside Hillside may refer to: Places
In a few weeks the wheels of big rigs Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the break up of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider. could mark the start of Castaic High School's construction, but county government and the fluctuating fluc·tu·ate v. fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing, fluc·tu·ates v.intr. 1. To vary irregularly. See Synonyms at swing. 2. To rise and fall in or as if in waves; undulate. v. economy dictate the timelines for land developers who have promised a ``jewel'' of a school site by 2010. But residents fear delays -- they expected a high school much sooner -- and are riled rile tr.v. riled, ril·ing, riles 1. To stir to anger. See Synonyms at annoy. 2. To stir up (liquid); roil. [Variant of roil.] Adj. 1. up after learning there's a chance their kids will be transferred from West Ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. High, where they currently attend, to distant schools. Parents and community leaders have met in offices, coffeehouses and school parking lots to plan a strategy to pressure officials to get their campus built. ``I can understand how people feel,'' said Jaime Castellanos, superintendent for the Hart Union High School District. ``This is an emotional issue, but we want to make an intelligent decision, and, most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , we want to do what is best for the kids, not the parents or the board members.'' The Hart board is expected to discuss the issue Wednesday, but no decisions will be made. Still parents want answers and they want them now. ``This has inflamed our community,'' Castaic resident John Zaring said. Zaring, who has started a citizens group called CUBS CUBS Completely Useless by September CUBS City University Business School (UK) CUBS Credit Union for Berkeley Students CUBS Citizens United for Baseball in the Sunshine -- Castaic United to Build a School -- said it is all about getting a Plan B going to ensure Castaic kids get a high school. ``All the eggs have been out into one basket, and I think it's the wrong one,'' Zaring said of the plan to build a school in the developing NorthLake tract. He is among those who think the high school should be built on a piece of land in Hasley and Sloan canyons Sloan Canyon is a National Conservation Area (NCA) administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is located just south of Las Vegas, Nevada, a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip, near the Anthem development in Henderson. that already has been acquired for the district through its nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. foundation. Five years ago the Hasley/Sloan site was eyed for the new high school, but community opposition stopped that plan. Shortly after, land developer SunCal proposed building the campus within its 4,000-home NorthLake development at virtually no cost to the Hart district. It's too late now to change course, the superintendent said. ``At one point the Hasley/Sloan site was our best option, but returning to that site now would start the process all over again, probably delaying the high school another five years,'' Castellanos said. Emotions peaked at a recent Hart school board meeting when the issue of overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. at newly built West Ranch High sparked discussion on ways to deal with the growth. District enrollment projections revealed West Ranch, built for 2,600 students, would have 3,550 by 2009, a year before Castaic High is expected to open. At that Jan. 24 meeting, the Hart district staff recommended adding 22 portable classrooms to the West Ranch campus, at a cost of about $3 million. Rob Gapper, the district's chief operations officer, said that option is looking more and more improbable as time passes. ``We are almost past the point where we can get those portables in time for the opening of the school year,'' Gapper said. The district's financial state is also a factor. ``The cost of that project comes at a time when we are working hard to manage our finances,'' Gapper said. ``It is making less and less sense than it might have at another time.'' School board member Dennis King For the English actor and singer, see Dennis King (actor). William Dennis King (born 1941) is an American investigative journalist who currently focuses on web-based advocacy journalism. proposed splitting Castaic-area students into two schools until the new campus opens. One of the schools suggested was Golden Valley High School -- about 17 miles from Castaic -- because there's room. ``We would have the majority go to West Ranch and have the rest go to another school, either Golden Valley or Valencia High school Valencia High School may refer to:
King added that his idea would not involve moving any current students out of West Ranch, or separating siblings siblings npl (formal) → frères et sœurs mpl (de mêmes parents) . ``I am just giving an alternative to spending all of this money,'' King said. ``There is a chance that if Castaic High is not ready, we will have to go another year or two without another school. It would be absolutely intolerable to have over 4,000 students in one school.'' John Kunak, president of the K-8 Castaic Union School District board, is one of several community figures who has stood up against the idea of moving the Castaic children to another school. ``My concern and the school board's concern is breaking up these students and alluding to it being a Castaic-area problem,'' Kunak said. ``For the last five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Castaic district has sent between 375 and 410 students to the Hart district. That has not changed. In fact it has declined slightly in the last few years.'' The father of a sixth-grade girl at Castaic Middle School, Kunak said the area has just one middle school and the children develop a very close bond. ``The prospect of separating students who have been together for nine years and have been looking forward to spending their four years of high school at West Ranch, where their brothers and sisters have already gone to high school, would be totally inappropriate.'' Castaic resident Jaqueline Morgan is especially concerned with a move. Her oldest son is a special-needs child and she feels that he runs the most risk of getting lost in the shuffle. ``I had my children in private school their whole life, until we moved here, and I was expecting a high school to open in Castaic by the time they were in high school,'' Castaic resident Pilar Pilar strong-minded female leader of a group of guerrillas in the Spanish Civil War. [Am. Lit.: Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls] See : Female Power Pilar Scott-Walker said. ``If they are not going to be at a school in Castaic, then let them stay at West Ranch. It's the high school with the best test scores anyway.'' West Ranch Principal Bob Vincent told the Daily News in an earlier phone interview that while he had no say in the board's ultimate decision, he would do his best to make things work for all of his students. ``We will be overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. , but we will be able to accommodate it,'' Vincent said. ``Others have operated that way; it takes commitment but working together we can do it.'' Gapper, a junior high principal before becoming a district administrator, said Castaic-area children are no different from any other Hart district students and will be sent to the appropriate school. ``We don't want to characterize these students as those kids up there in Castaic,'' Gapper said. ``We view them the same as we would any kid, from Canyon Country, Pinetree, or the Summitt -- a Hart district student throughout.'' connie.llanos@dailynews.com (661) 257-5254 CAPTION(S): box Box: CASTAIC HIGH SCHOOL Sources: Hart school district, Castaic Town Council and Santa Valley Facilities Foundation, which acquires land for Hart campuses. |
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