HBCSD Corruption
Lie #10
The Unverified Statements:
(1) Pat Escalante, HBCSD Superintendent (2012-2020): “Um, the other thing that we looked at was a conversation that evolved from our last compact meeting that was last year in September when we discussed, um, the Community Center as an option with regards to, um, housing temporarily school children. And, what, um, the board, ah, Diane, ah, presented a report to you about the after-school program, and, um, some of the conclusions as to why the Community Center was not a viable option. And we had a discussion and then the council, ah, voted to approve and file that report. And so, we have looked at, um, the Community Center, we have discussed with the City the Community Center options, and, I mean with the City the Community Center options, the board has discussed it, um, in numerous, um, board meetings.” Hermosa Beach Joint City Council and School Board Meeting, May 28, 2014. Time Stamp: 1:08:00
NOTE: It is assumed that the report that Pat Escalante is referring to is the Update on Proposed Expansion of P.A.R.K. After School Program from October 2013.
NOTE: This is a misleading statement by HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante that no one at the Joint City Council and School Board meeting challenges. The discussion Pat Escalante is referring to is one regarding the City's after school program at the October 8, 2013 City Council Meeting. The P.A.R.K. after-school program was a discussion of a city-run program and was NOT a factual discussion of district use of the Community Center during the school day and the district's lease agreement with the city when enrollment exceeded 1,266 students.
NOTE: The Update on Proposed Expansion of P.A.R.K. After School Program from October 2013 contained many misleading statements/claims. Please see Misleading and misinformation contained in the Update on Proposed Expansion of P.A.R.K. After School Program #4. The Update was NOT a true discussion of district use of the Community Center to relieve overcrowding considering the provisions of the district's leasing agreement with the city. This document was referred to several times by Superintendent Escalante as to why HBCSD can not use the Community Center/Pier Avenue School for students. Please see Misinformation contained in the May 2014 Board Highlights given to parents and Misleading and misinformation contained in the Joint Meeting of the Governing Board of the Hermosa Beach City School District and the Hermosa Beach City Council recommendations by Pat Escalante, HBCSD Superintendent and Tom Bakaly, City Manager, City of Hermosa Beach Date: May 22, 2014 (for the exact document click here) (Exhibit JM-1)
NOTE: The Update on Proposed Expansion of P.A.R.K. After School Program was released by the city shortly after a Facilities Planning and Advisory Committee member found the M.O.U. at the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office in Norwalk, CA. The MOU outlined the provisions for district use of classrooms, office and storage space at Pier Avenue School/Community Center when district enrollment surpasses 1,266 students.
COMPETING INFORMATION: August 21, 2013 – HBCSD Facilities Planning Advisory Committee August 21, 2013 meeting minutes: (TL-2013Aug21 FPAC minutes)
“Discussion held on notes versus minutes. Committee asks for more formalized minutes rather than notes. Committee requested that the minutes from the meeting be distributed to the committee prior to the next schedule[d] meeting.”
“Chairperson Ehsan asked for announcements. Superintendent Escalante was asked to comment on the options of using the Community Center for overcrowding of the facilities at Valley School due to continued increase in student enrollment. The Community Center is owned by the city and is not currently a designated school site. The board has made the decision to place modular classrooms on both campuses to solve [does placing more modular classrooms on both campuses “SOLVE” the overcrowding problem or does it just make things worse?] the current overcrowding as a short-term solution [from 2013 until March 2021 until North School was rebuilt?]."
"Committee member Bacallao requested that representatives from the state tour the community center to see if there are any Title 5 restrictions that would prevent the community center as being used by the district should additional classroom space be needed in the future. Committee agreed that if we need or want to continue investigating the community center, the committee would need a directive from the board.” [The school board never gave the FPAC the directive to continue to investigate the Community Center for district use.]
(2) Lance Widman, former Hermosa Beach City Council member (1975-1981) and signer on the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School and HBCSD School Board member (2002-2009): “Shortly after the passage of the bond measure in 2002, the School Board hired a well-respected land use consultant to assess possible land purchases, commercial and residential, bordering Hermosa Valley School. After lengthy discussions and numerous meetings, the Board determined that a land purchase was not economically feasible.” To my old friend by Lance Widman, Letters to the Editor 11/24/2005, Easy Reader News (Exhibit TL-2005Nov24 LTTE LW To my old friend)
NOTE: There is no transcript, video-tape or formal report evidence for the ”lengthy” discussion and "numerous" meetings held with the “well-respected land use consultant” that Lance Widman is referring to in this passage. Who was the "well-respected land use consultant" Lance Widman is referring to? No additional information was supplied by HBCSD to the public to verify these statements despite requests from residents.
NOTE: After this statement from Lance Widman, a former Hermosa resident, Cathy Osborn, who was a real-estate agent, reported that she had spoken personally to the manager of the Adelphia location and he had no knowledge of anyone from the school district approaching Adelphia regarding purchasing the Adelphia site to expand Valley School.
NOTE: The first attempt at Measure J bond language did not include purchasing land to expand Valley School. Before the language was added to the final ballot, Superintendent Duffy Clark had reported that Adelphia (now Spectrum) was unwilling to sell their property to the school district.
Please see: April 9, 2002 – Minutes from the HBCSD Citizens Meeting held at View School: (TL-2002Apr11 Citizen’s Meeting)
“Superintendent Duffy Clark spoke to Adelphia (now Spectrum) about selling their site. But Adelphia said that they do not have any intention of selling because they just invested over one million dollars upgrading their cables/equipment.”
NOTE: This statement by former Superintendent Duffy Clark was made seven months BEFORE the November 2002 Measure J bond vote before school board members ADDED “acquiring land” to the ballot wording.
See also: June 2002 – Survey of voter attitudes toward the district’s planned facilities bond by Evans/McDonough Company, Inc.: (Exhibit TL-2002Jun)
(3) Lance Widman, former Hermosa Beach City Council member (1975-1981) and signer on the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School and HBCSD School Board member (2002-2009):
”It is indeed a charming notion that the Community Center
could again be used as a junior high school. That possibility was
carefully considered more than once. Unfortunately, wishing very
hard and very long does not change the District’s current new
construction realities.” Letters to the Editor 12/22/2005, Easy
Reader News (TL-2015Dec22 LTTE L Widman)
NOTE: There is no transcript, video-tape or formal report evidence for the conversations/meetings that Lance Widman is referring to in this statement.
(4) Lance Widman, former Hermosa Beach City Council member (1975-1981) and signer on the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School and HBCSD School Board member (2002-2008):
“School board trustee Lance Widman, who was mayor at the
time of the 1978 sale, said it’s an idea that’s time has passed.”
“…the idea to buy and remodel the Community Center was considered
fully and found not to be economically sound.” School district
finalizes construction plans by David Rosenfeld, June 17, 2004,
Easy Reader Newspaper. (TL-2004Jun17 ER district finalizes const
plans)
NOTE: There is no transcript, video-tape or formal report evidence for the conversations/meetings that Lance Widman is referring to in this statement.
(5) Lance Widman, former Hermosa Beach City Council member (1975-1981) and signer on the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School and HBCSD School Board member (2002-2008):
“No formal study has been done, though Dougherty said he
looked at the possibility closely*. Dougherty said classrooms would
have to be enlarged according to code, asbestos removed, an elevator
installed, and a handicap ramp created in the back.” School district
finalizes construction plans by David Rosenfeld, June 17, 2004, Easy
Reader Newspaper. (TL-2004Jun17 ER district finalizes const plans)
1. *NOTE: Why didn’t Dougherty and Dougherty make a formal report
on the Community Center issues so that they could be further
investigated and considered along with the district’s other plans?
As we have learned from fact checking other consultants HBCSD has
hired, it seems that district hired consultants will often tailor their
reports and information to conform to what the district wants, not to
the actual facts of the matter. See information regarding Decision
Insite enrollment consultant’s reports, Pam Daly’s North School
historical assessment, Richard Garland’s traffic study.
2. Architects may not be impartial purveyors of information. Architects
who would most likely rather be paid to design and build new
structures at Valley School instead of saving Hermosa Beach
taxpayers’ money by using existing facilities.
3. COMPETING INFORMATION:
A. Classrooms can be enlarged by removing interior walls installed
by the city, but they do not have to be sized according to “code”.
Title 5 Code of Regulations apply to new construction only.
Otherwise, taxpayers would be on the hook to update countless
older school buildings throughout California to conform to current
Title 5 codes. This "issue" should not prevent HBCSD from using
the Community Center classrooms for students.
B. Title 5 standards were adopted in 1993. (JM-9a Title 5 standards
wide discretion) The CDE does not require that school districts
make all existing schools meet relatively new Title 5 standards.
Requiring that all school districts be responsible for bringing all
their schools up to current Title 5 standards would cost taxpayers
BILLIONS of dollars.
C. Title 5 standards recommend that new classrooms be 960 sq ft.
The classrooms in the community center that are smaller than
Title 5 standards are only 900 sq ft to 930 sq ft: the equivalent
of a 30’X30’ or 30’X31’ classroom versus 31’X31’ classroom. Should
a difference of 30 or 60 square feet be the reason for the district
to reject the Community Center to temporarily relieve
overcrowding? Why not just put less students in each of the
smaller classrooms?
a. According to the Existing Space Inventory on page 43 of
the 2014 Facilities Master Plan, there are six classrooms
at Valley School that fall below the Title 5 standard of
960 square feet for students grades 1st – 8th. Rooms #12
and #13 are listed as being 949 sq ft each. Room #14 is
listed as being 931 sq ft. Rooms #22, #23, #24 are listed
as being only 900 sq ft each. The fact that these six
classrooms are less than the CDE Title 5 recommended 960
sq ft has not diminish or prevented their use for students
at Valley School. (TL-2014 FMP p43, clsrms less than
960 sq ft)
b. According to the View School - Existing Space Inventory on
page 53 of the 2014 Facilities Master Plan, there are four
kindergarten classes that are held in classrooms that are
less than the Title 5 recommendation of 1,350 sq ft for
transitional kindergarten and kindergarten. The four
kindergarten classes are held in classrooms that are 960
sq ft each. (TL-2014 FMP p53, clsrms less than 1,350 ft)
c. Any standard can be exempted, see Item u. in Section
14010 Standards for School Site Selection states: “At
the request of the governing board of a school district,
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction may grant
exemptions to any of the standards in this section if
the district can demonstrate that mitigation of specific
circumstances overrides a standard without compromising
a safe and supportive school environment.”
D. HBCSD has no problem ignoring CDE Title 5 standards for classroom size and campus size when in suits them:
a. HBCSD put 5-6 classes of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
students in classrooms designed for 3rd & 4th grade students
at Vista School (aka North School) in 2021–2022. Classrooms
designed for kindergarten students are supposed to be larger
(1,350 square feet) and with attached bathrooms and easy
access and supervision to a connected outdoor play space.
Classrooms for 3rd & 4th grade students are designated to
be 960 square feet. This decision by HBCSD violated Title 5
standards.
b. Vista School campus is only 27% of the recommended size for 425 students, even as the campus was built for 510 students. (TL-2019Apr11 CDE NS 27%) This decision by HBCSD violated Title 5 standards.
c. Keeping students in overcrowded conditions for years should
violate Title 5 standards. Putting two classrooms of students
in the Multipurpose room at Valley and View schools should
also violate Title 5 standards. Greg Breen ignores these
violations of Title 5 standards and only mentions the fact
that some of the classrooms at the Community Center are
smaller than what is recommended by the CDE.
E. According to the Arbitration Agreement Exhibit D of the Agreement, Article 4.d:
“It is the intent of the parties that Hermosa Beach
residents and property owners shall be given priority in the
use of the facilities.”
a. Most of the current occupants using the Community Center
classrooms during school hours are NOT from Hermosa
Beach.
b. There are four classrooms in the south wing that are leased
out to adults with disabilities that are 920 square feet each.
(TL-PAS South wing clsrms) There are six classrooms in the
north wing: four of the rooms are 900 square feet each.
(TL-PAS North wing clsrms) There are four other rooms that
appear to be at least 900 square feet each or more. Any
non-structural partitions that have been erected in existing
classrooms could be removed and reinstalled after the
district could move students to North School.
c. Did it make sense for the school district to forego using the
Community Center and instead purchase/lease $1.14M in
temporary facility “solutions” which are not long-term
improvements to a community asset and do nothing to stop
overcrowding on district campuses? The Community Center
classrooms could temporarily accommodate any grade of
middle school (5th grade through 8th grader) students to
relieve overcrowding on Valley or View campuses. See Pier
Avenue School floor plan (TL-1935-1939 PAS floor plans) and
classroom sizes.
F. Where is the study that confirms asbestos at the Community Center? Why hasn’t it already been removed by the city if it’s a problem? Asbestos is only a problem if it is released into the air.
NOTE: The North School asbestos study contained in the 2017-2019 Environmental Impact Report recommended that the district NOT tear down North School. (TL-EIR Asbestos report) According to David Lucero an Environmental Assessor for Terra Petra Environmental Engineering everything that appears to have asbestos could be removed during renovations. All the additions of asbestos were added in the late 50’s which are easy to remove. Nothing about the North School buildings themselves have any issues. The same architects and engineers who built North School also built the Community Center, therefore it is likely that asbestos is not a problem at the Community Center either.
G. An elevator was planned for the new construction at Valley School that would only service TWO classrooms. An elevator installed at the Community Center would service six classrooms. Why would installation of an elevator be a problem at the Community Center? All public buildings are required by law to be ADA accessible, the same is true for the Community Center. The City of Hermosa Beach has already made many ADA improvements to the Community Center over the years at minimal cost. (Exhibit TL-2003Nov12 CC ADA upgrades), (Exhibit TL-2006Jun to 13Feb), (Exhibit TL-2013Dec10)
(6) Greg Breen, former HBCSD School Board member (2002 to 2008):
“The building itself would have to undergo substantial
reconstruction.” “Architects* have advised the board that it’d be
cheaper to bulldoze the Community Center than to rehabilitate it.”
“None of this is new information. The district has had this
information available for anyone to review since I was on the board
a decade ago.“ Pier into the Past? Easy Reader News, Letters to the
Editor, July 30, 2015.
*NOTE: Dougherty and Dougherty are NOT engineers and are NOT qualified to make statements about the structural integrity of Pier Avenue School.
*NOTE: Why didn’t Dougherty and Dougherty make a formal report on the Community Center issues so that they could be shown to the public, investigated and considered along with the district’s other plans? As we have learned from fact checking other consultants HBCSD has hired, it seems that district hired consultants will often tailor their reports and information to conform to what the district wants, not to the actual facts of the matter. See information regarding Decision Insite enrollment consultant’s reports, Pam Daly’s North School historical assessment, Richard Garland’s traffic study.
NOTE: No AVAILABLE information confirms this public statement by former Hermosa Beach School Board member. However there is plenty of information that would disprove this statement by Greg Breen. Please see: Lie #6: Misleading the public as to the condition and safety of the Community Center for students.
NOTE: Please also see: Email response from HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante to community member Miyo Prassas request for information email dated August 4, 2015 . (TL-2015Aug4 email response from Escalante re: GB LTTE)
“… the district is unable to provide the information that
you are requesting [copy of any documentation from architects that
would validate Greg Breen’s statement.]. Mr. Breen need[s] to
provide the reference to you. The content of a letter written to the
opinion section of a local newspaper by a resident [former HBCSD
School Board member 2001-2008], is in the view of the district,
his opinion.” (TL-2015Aug4 email response from Escalante re:
GB LTTE)
(7) Pat Escalante, HBCSD Superintendent (2012-2020):
Please see: Hermosa Beach City School District Measure S Informational Meeting, May 25, 2016, time stamp: 01:05:21 http://hermosabeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=6&clip_id=4167
“It [North School] is set up as a school from 1987, that’s remained as 1987, with $15,000 year put into it to maintain it.”
COMPETING INFORMATION: The claim of $15,000/year to maintain North School has not been verified by district documents. According to Purchase Orders Over $500.00 information posted to school board meeting minutes, over nine years (2008 – 2016) HBCSD spent an average of $4,070.98/year to maintain North School NOT $15,000/year. (TL-2008-2016 NS maint expenditures) Rebuilding North School cost taxpayers $29M.