Casabianca makes excuses for Arroyo Vista overcrowding
Aug 22, 2003 Filed in: Casabianca,
John
At the August 18, 2003 board meeting, Trustee Casabianca joined his colleagues in a 7-0 vote, giving final approval for the expansion of Arroyo Vista School from a K-5 to a K-8 school. During Trustee comments, Casabianca remembered dealing with overcrowding at Arroyo Vista -- there were 1,349 kids on campus in 1996 and 1997 -- when his children went to school there. What he refused to address, was that CUSD had created such overcrowding by systemmatically violating the exemption process under Title 14 of the California Environmental Quality Act. Between 1993 and 1999, the district illegally expanded Arroyo Vista School by nearly 100% of its original student capacity without preparing any environmental impact study or report whatsoever -- three times the 25% limit they were restricted to under Title 14. Casabianca and his colleagues were advised of this before he voted to approve the project.