Arlington parents keep children home in protest
Tensions still have not eased in Torrance where a center for children with emotional disorders shares a campus with an elementary school.
By Ian Hanigan
Daily Breeze

A school for children with emotional disorders officially opened on the campus of Torrance's Arlington Elementary on Monday, prompting scores of Arlington parents to keep their children home for the day, with many citing safety concerns.

In the evening, several parents voiced those same concerns at the Torrance Unified School District's board of education meeting. Board members, however, defended the new center as a worthwhile and safe facility.



"I am fully convinced that these students are good students," trustee Heidi Ashcraft said. "I feel that they are not a threat to the Arlington children."

Ninety-four of Arlington's roughly 600 students missed school Monday -- up from the usual 15 to 20 who are reported absent on any given day, according to Principal Linda Moorhead, who said an even larger boycott is rumored to take place today.

The absences were a clear sign that tensions have not eased since last week, when about 200 parents signed a petition denouncing the district's decision to lease a corner of the Arlington playground to the Vasek Polak Education Center, which is run by the South Bay Children's Health Center. The school serves a dozen students in grades seven through 12 who are classified as emotionally disturbed or severely emotionally disturbed.

District officials and the center's director have maintained that the nonprofit school, which has three teachers and three licensed therapists working in a bungalow bordered by a chain-link fence, is a safe addition to Arlington.

But a vocal group of parents has pushed for the facility's relocation, saying it is inappropriate to have older students -- some as old as 17 -- with psychological problems on an elementary campus. Many say they are worried that younger children will be exposed to foul language or worse.

"Regardless of what difficulties these children are dealing with, it is not appropriate for these older children to be in any proximity to children who are in preschool through fifth grade," said Kathy Laneri, who has two children at Arlington, at Monday night's board meeting.

"We are talking about the younger children being exposed to everything from inappropriate language to the possibility of violence."

Earlier in the day, Leigh Ikemiya said she kept her two girls from attending their second- and fourth-grade classes on Monday because she didn't think the district has done enough to guarantee their safety.

"I don't feel that the principal or anyone in charge has taken any steps to protect our children," she said.

But Principal Moorhead reaffirmed her belief that the Vasek Polak center is not a danger to Arlington's K-5 population. The boycott, she said, only hampers the school's efforts to educate children.

"In one class, there are nine kids absent," Moorhead said. "Whatever the teacher is doing today, she has to repeat it again tomorrow to get those nine kids up to speed."

Furthermore, every missing child costs the district about $26 per day. That means Monday's absences will strip Torrance Unified's general fund of approximately $2,400 during a lean budget year.

"They're hurting the programs that could be benefiting their own children," Moorhead said.

Steve Yokomizo, who has emerged as the unofficial spokesman for the concerned parents, said he and his wife sent their two children to school but "struggled mightily" with the decision.

"We already have the district's attention," he said, "and I don't want to sacrifice the education of my child over that."

Having assailed school officials for failing to communicate properly with the public, Yokomizo said he is hoping the city of Torrance will find a way to intervene in the matter. To that end, City Manager Leroy Jackson said his staff is trying to determine whether municipal leaders have any jurisdiction.

"We're taking a look," he said.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the South Bay Children's Health Center said Monday's opening of the Vasek Polak school, which recently lost its lease in Redondo Beach, was "smooth as glass."

Herbert C. Masi said he has received several cards and even a houseplant welcoming his school and its staff to the neighborhood.

"This is all going to sort itself out," he said of the controversy. "All I want is for the kids to be taken care of."