Board of Ed to discuss fate of East School

Following a number of presentations and a public forum last week, the Long Beach Board of Education is expected to make a decision on Wednesday night regarding five proposals to repurpose the district’s buildings, two of which include closing East School to students.

Because it is a work session, not a meeting, a formal vote is not expected, Superintendent David Weiss said, though, he added, the trustees would “put their cards on the table” and make statements explaining which option they favor.

Weiss said that if the board decides to pursue one of the two options that involve closing East School, then a formal vote would be necessary. A resolution would have to be drafted, and a public hearing would be held. For the other three options, which focus on restructuring the schools or maintaining current operations, the process is less formal, he said.

Weiss said that Wednesday’s work session was scheduled a week before the regularly scheduled board meeting because the board felt that the public wanted an immediate response. “There’s been a lot of communication to the board via email,” he said. “I think they’ve taken that all into consideration.”

School Board Trustee Roy Lester expressed frustration with the direction the discussion of the proposals had taken. “My personal feeling is that the message has been lost,” Lester said. “There are different options, but everyone is focusing on one. People focused on East School; that was the only thing they wanted to talk about. People got so caught up in this.”