By Peter Nichols
pnichols@tellingthetruth.com

A map, revealed pursuant to a public information request made by school safety committee leader Sylvia Previtali, raises renewed questions about the reliability of the aeronautics evaluation performed by the Division of Aeronautics in 1992. Only this time, the questions concern what site the Department of Transportation evaluated.

Looking North on Lee Rd. at the proposed high school site on Harkins Slough Rd.

The map, and accompanying memoranda were made available in late May following a request made in March. Superintendent John Casey originally suggested that he would not research the 1992 aeronautics evaluation since a new evaluation was to be performed. When confronted with questions regarding the legality of his unwillingness to produce documents, the documents were produced.

Previous maps and documents provided by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Education indicate that the 1992 Aeronautics evaluation was performed to determine the suitability of 11 different sites, most within two miles of the Watsonville Municipal Airport. The location of the Harkins Slough Rd. site was indicated by a rectangle parallel to Harkins Slough Rd. at Lee Rd. on each of two different but similar maps.

These maps have called raised questions concerning the evaluation's reliability since neither included an adequate scale which the DOE requires on maps submitted for the purpose of determining school site suitability.

Section of newly released map showing location of "Lee Rd. at Harkins Slough Rd." alternate school site, Dec. 16, 1991.

Dan Gargas, Aeronautics Consultant for DOT said in February, 2000 that the department had actually lost all documentation related to that evaluation.

Among the newly released material are two memos dated December 16, 1991 that accompany the new map. The memos are from Richard Meyer, then responsible for new construction for PVUSD. One is addressed to Stan Rose, California Department of Education Consultant and referenced an enclosed map. The other is to then Superintendent Merrill Grant, and Robert Peterson, Bob Lyons, Cherie Sinnott and Chris Johnson-Lyons, referred to as members of the Green Valley Action Committee. Chris Johnson-Lyons represented Wetlands Watch on the Fred Keeley organized Memorandum of Understanding Group. Included with this second memo, in the documents provided by the District, is the same map referred to in the memo to Rose, though this memo does not reference the map.

Both memos address nine alternative sites including "Lee Road at Harkins Slough Rd." referred to in the memo and on the map as #5. What is particularly noteworthy about the location of this proposed high school

Photo courtesy Sylvia Previtali The property indicated on Meyer's Dec. 16, 1991 map as "Lee Road at Harkins Slough Road" is currently industrial use.

site is that site is shown as being one mile farther south on Lee Rd. than the actual location of the proposed school. This new map shows the proposed school site in the industrial development close to the Budweiser distributor, not on Harkins Slough Rd.

the memos indicate a time line covering dates during November and December of 1991 and refer to a meeting on Dec. 11 in which Meyers, Rose and then airport manager Kim Wirht reviewed the airport master plan, flight patterns and the nine alternative sites. The memo to Rose refers to the Dec. 11 meeting and lists the nine sites and includes the map.

A review of all maps and documents associated with the high school development project indicates that this was the first map showing locations of alternative sites and was sent to Stan Rose one month prior to the date of the aeronautics evaluation, Jan. 17, 1992.