Agenda for Sept 11 Meeting; Extreme Heat Minimum Day; Supporting Portuguese Bend Families
Happy Sunday. I hope you’re all finding ways to stay cool.
The agenda for this Wednesday’s meeting is posted here. The discussion/action items include a summary of the District’s financial position at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year (K4), and an MOU with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for a bullying program that includes sharing our district’s data with the County (K6).
Extreme Heat Minimum Day
As you may have heard, the District is implementing a minimum day tomorrow, September 9, to minimize exposure to the high temperatures. Some of our school sites lack air conditioning, and other sites with AC have old units that have either stopped working or work poorly. Some children suffered serious heat-related illness at school last week.
As we discussed during our August 28 board meeting, the State told our district we qualified for a $6 million dollar CalSHAPE grant for HVAC upgrades, but the Governor abruptly pulled the rug out from under us (and 140 other districts) and clawed back the grant award. As I have stated many times in the past, we must sue the State in order to access sufficient funding to provide safe and habitable schools to our students. Our students continue to suffer deprivation of instructional time due to facilities-related issues: flooding, power failure, and extreme heat, among others. As I have also said many times, that road will be long and is not guaranteed to succeed, and we need to consider all of our options, including the local bond measure on the November ballot. The situation is dire and not something we can continue kicking down the road.
What can you do to help?
School site: Consider donating fans and/or AC units to your school.
Districtwide: Advocate for our district to halt all unnecessary spending and direct dollars to necessary facilities upgrades.
Statewide: Contact Governor Newsom, Asm. Al Muratsuchi, and Sen. Ben Allen and explain how your children are impacted by the State’s abandonment of districts like ours.
Supporting Our Neighbors Impacted by the Landslide
Many local businesses and individuals are stepping up to support neighbors who are essentially camping in their homes without power, gas, and starting tomorrow, internet service. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes provides updates and information here.
Locally-owned Bettolino Kitchen is running a donation match program. When you donate $30, Bettolino Kitchen will match it and feed a family of 4 a hot dinner of pasta, protein, salad and bread.
The Rotary Club is accepting check donations made to "The Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Foundation." Please add in the memo line: Portuguese Bend Landslide Relief Fund and your email address on the checks and mail them to PVP Rotary Foundation, 904 Silver Spur Road, Box 270, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274.
Generators, flashlights, and solar lights are also in demand, as well as reasonably priced pet-friendly rentals for those who are making the difficult choice to leave. While Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency, thus far he has not made the request to FEMA to provide financial assistance to individuals impacted by the landslide, meaning our neighbors are losing everything and have no disaster relief funds to help them into alternative housing.
Please keep our neighbors in your thoughts and prayers, and don’t wait for someone else to be a helper. You can be a helper too.
As always, this is just one lady’s opinion. I don’t speak for the board or district, and no one else speaks for me.
