"The mission of CWC 4 is to provide a"learning environment that develops each individual student's"individual responsibility as citizens of the world in which we live."The charter school industry has fought hard to exempt itself from laws meant to protect students from harm while attending its schools. In 2021, lobbyists for these publicly funded private schools successfully fought off AB 762, a proposed bill that would have required charter schools to follow the same environmental laws as public schools. This allows them to sidestep laws that ensure schools are safe during earthquakes, require specific protocols to remediate contaminated land, and mandate that they contact local government air quality regulators to assess potential health risks when proposing to build a school within a quarter-mile of a facility known to emit air pollution. A charter school could, therefore, construct a facility on a former gas station without properly evaluating if any remaining contaminants would be harmful to children.
- Citizens of the World charter document
Even when laws do apply to charter schools, chains like Citizens of the World Charter (CWC) ignore them, often without consequence. For example, California law requires the Division of Aeronautics to conduct an evaluation when a proposed school site is within two nautical miles of an airport. However, it appears that CWC has purchased property within 1.76 miles of a runway at the Burbank Airport without publicly disclosing if this evaluation has been conducted, as is required "before acquiring title."
State law also specifies that new school sites "shall not be adjacent to a road or freeway that any site-related traffic and sound level studies have determined will have safety problems or sound levels which adversely affect the educational program." In most cases, SB-352 prohibits "a school site that is within 500 feet from the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor." Yet the land CWC has purchased at 12409 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood was advertised by the real estate agent as being a "Major Thoroughfare Location (Victory Blvd.) at the 170 Freeway Southbound off-ramp." There will be nothing between the charter school and exiting cars and the facility will be less than 500 feet from the closest traffic lane on that congested freeway.
These issues were among those discussed at the June 2nd meeting of the Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council (GVGNC). These elected representatives were also concerned with how the safety of the neighborhood would be affected by the proposed project, especially on the surrounding streets.
As advertised by the real estate agent, the area where the school is proposed already has "high traffic counts" on one of the Valley's busiest thoroughfares fed by the freeway off-ramp. A school approved for 1,070 students with most families residing outside the area would strain the infrastructure even further, perhaps to the breaking point, especially during morning drop-off time during rush hour.
Exacerbating traffic issues will be a lack of on-site parking spaces. Utilizing AB 2097, a law authored by Laura Friedman when she was still in the California Assembly, CWC will provide only two on-site parking spots. With the streets nearest to the school designated as "no parking" zones," the entire faculty and any visiting parents will be forced to park in neighboring residential areas, clogging through traffic as they parallel park. Those with disabilities who can only find spaces beyond their physical limitations will be deprived of access to this publicly funded facility.
Many residents will be caught off guard by the increased traffic and sudden dearth of parking spaces in their neighborhood as AB 2097 guts the right of adjacent or nearby property owners to be notified as projects built under its provisions are considered. During their discussion, this left members of the GVGNC feeling that they were left in the dark as they had still not received the information that usually accompanies projects that they review as part of their responsibilities.
Even though AB 2097 was intended to streamline the process of approving residential housing along transit corridors, and charter schools are not listed as potential beneficiaries of the law, this is not the first time CWC has utilized the law's provisions. In Silver Lake, some residents have described "an invasion of their neighborhood" as the campuses' "parents, staff, and visitors"block residents from getting in or out of their driveways" and there are "long lines of idling cars by parents that snarl traffic and pollute the air".
Hoping to avoid the same fate for the neighborhoods they represent, the GVGNC voted to ask the City Attorney's office to intervene in the process as CWC secures permission to begin building its new facility. Most specifically, they would like to ensure that the charter school is not allowed to improperly use an exemption that was not meant to apply to them.
The other side of the property. Note the uncontrolled intersection.
(Image by Carl J. Petersen) Details DMCA
As the Neighborhood Council does its job to represent its constituents, the LAUSD School Board must also step up to ensure that this neighborhood and CWC's students are protected. Given the charter school industry's financial support of Kelly Gonez's campaigns, there is little chance that she will intervene to ensure that safety is maintained. Therefore, it is up to the four-member majority elected for their promise to support public education to make it clear that they will not permit any facility to open that endangers the safety of its students.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, and serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
(Article changed on Jun 16, 2025 at 9:13 AM EDT)
