- Target:
- Superintendent Dr. Esparza, Board member Dr. Merino, Board member Ms. Castillo
- Region:
- United States of America
Tell ERUSD's Superintendent Dr. Esparza, and School Board Members Dr. Merino and Ms. Castillo to stop dragging their feet and finally start the rebuild of El Rancho High School by signing this petition!
Please watch this video to see what the new El Rancho High School will look like! https://youtu.be/1RFMJzQTJU4
In 2016 residents of Pico Rivera voted to pass Measure ER in order to rebuild El Rancho High School so that this old and debilitated campus can be replaced by a brand new state-of-the-art school, of which our youth deserve! By voting on Measure ER, residents agreed to pay a temporary increase in property taxes. Although residents of Pico Rivera have already started paying into Measure ER, Dr. Esparza, Dr. Merino, and Ms. Castillo continue to stall the process, which has now added an additional $500,000 to $1,000,000 to the $7,000,000 that has already accumulated, due to previous stalling, to the final cost of the rebuild!
They've tried every tactic, including arguing that the rebuild shouldn't start this semester to not disrupt the class of 2020's graduation ceremony, and also because there were too many students on campus to begin construction. Although Governor Newsom has declared that "construction is an essential business" in his executive order, Dr. Esparza is trying to use COVID-19 as yet another tactic to stall the rebuild. Now that students are learning from home due to COVID-19 for the rest of the semester, it is the PERFECT time to start construction.
Measure ER specifically states that the construction of the school site must include the hiring of Pico Rivera residents. Not only would this help many residents who are in dire need of work right now due to being laid off because of COVID-19, but it will also benefit our city and school district by giving our own residents jobs. It would also bring more business to local restaurants where construction workers can order food from, in addition to increasing student enrollment, which in turn would bring in more money to the city and district. Lastly, a complete rebuild would increase property values in Pico Rivera of which homeowners will greatly need in order to recover from this economic recession. NOW, more than ever before, is the perfect time to move forward with construction!
Superintendent Dr. Esparza and school board members Dr. Merino and Ms. Castillo were recently quoted in the Whittier Daily News that they want to use this delay to HALT CONSTRUCTION ENTIRELY and refocus the project to be more of a "renovation" than a complete rebuild. Please read the article here for more details: https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2020/04/15/el-rancho-high-rebuild-project-in-limbo-amid-coronavirus-concerns/
It is time for us to come together as a community and tell them that enough is enough! The residents of Pico Rivera voted for a REBUILD, not a renovation project. This is an infringement of our rights as tax-paying citizens, which comes down to theft of our money while completely dishonoring the democratic process by ignoring our votes!
WE VOTED FOR A REBUILD, NOT A RENOVATION AND HAVE ALREADY STARTED PAYING FOR IT THROUGH OUR PROPERTY TAXES! WE DEMAND THAT ERUSD GIVE THIS COMMUNITY WHAT IT VOTED FOR AND WHAT IT'S ALREADY PAYING FOR!
STOP WITH ALL THE BOGUS EXCUSES! REBUILD EL RANCHO HIGH SCHOOL NOW!
We, the undersigned, call on ERUSD to immediately begin the rebuild of El Rancho High School! Respect our vote.
The Start the Rebuild of El Rancho High School Now! petition to Superintendent Dr. Esparza, Board member Dr. Merino, Board member Ms. Castillo was written by Kaya Pereyra and is in the category Education at GoPetition.