Lawsuits Only Benefit Attorneys

Last week’s edition of this blog questioned what taxpayers would gain from the city’s lawsuit against Saddleback Valley USD. Read the Sept. 12 article here.

The title of the city’s legal action against SVUSD is about busing. The issue, however, is the reuse of O’Neill Elementary School. On March 10, SVUSD trustees decided O’Neill Elementary would permanently close at the end of the school year. The building has since reopened as an adult education center, and classes began two weeks ago. The city’s lawsuit says SVUSD failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act when it didn’t address the potential impacts of reuse as an adult education center.

Brad Morton on Sept. 15 published an article on MissionViejoDispatch.com, revealing that the city filed suit prior to getting the council’s approval. Morton questions whether or not a Brown Act violation occurred. Read the article and reader comments at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=11324#comments.

While Mission Viejo residents might not agree on how to express their disappointment over the school’s closing, one aspect should be clear: O’Neill is not going to reopen as an elementary school. Using city tax dollars to wage a battle against SVUSD only enriches law firms, and any impression that the city is punishing school district trustees is hollow. The lawsuit, while it might require SVUSD to go back and perform an Environmental Impact Report, will be costly and not make city taxpayers, SVUSD constituents or O’Neill parents happy. Likewise, the city’s lawsuit over busing will benefit lawyers, but it won’t bring back the bus routes.

In SVUSD, the next opportunity for meaningful change is November 2010. Those speaking out about O’Neill have more than a year to organize campaigns and run for two open seats, now held by Dore Gilbert and Nancy Kirkpatrick.

In November 2008, only one challenger, Joel Quinsenberry, ran against incumbents Suzie Swartz, Don Sedgwick and Ginny Fay Aitkins, who kept their seats.