By Haeeun Blessing Jee, Cleveland High School, Grade 10
February 7, 2011___A new school is preparing to open in the Los Angeles area in fall 2011, but until then, it’s the item of hottest contention between two entities fighting for ownership.
Although Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) actually built the new high school called Valley Region High School No. 4, legally, charter schools in the area must have the opportunity to bid for it and potentially take leadership of it.
And Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) wants it.
On January 25 and January 29, 2011, Monroe High School, another high school in the area, hosted two days of voting for the community to express what they want. The outcome of the vote count does not determine what will happen, but LAUSD authorities will take into consideration how the community feels.
If LAUSD takes Valley Region High School No. 4, it will become a performing arts school. The school district and its supporters hope that the new school will alleviate some of the overcrowding that has been rampant at Grover Cleveland High School, Monroe High School, and Kennedy High School.
If GHCHS takes the new school, it will become another charter school.
A few teachers at Grover Cleveland High School (CHS) talked to students about Valley Region High School No. 4 and how the new school could benefit CHS and the community. Teachers like Frida Rodriguez, who teaches Spanish and strongly opposes “the GHCHS regime,” offered extra credit to students who voted on either January 25 or 29.
Lines of people waiting to cast their vote were long, winding through hallways and across the grassy quad. Some people said they waited more than two hours in 60 degrees Fahrenheit weather.
According to Justin Shieh, a sophomore at Grover Cleveland High School, his school wasn’t the only one giving out extra credit for voting. “Basically, Granada bribed their kids into coming [to vote] by offering pizza parties and ten hours of detention off. They even offered a bus to take kids to Monroe to vote!”
With the voting period over, LAUSD schools and GHCHS can only wait in anticipation for what will happen next.
