In another setback for the secession-minded Wiseburn School District, state education officials are expected to rescind approval of an election that would have let Wiseburn voters decide whether to add a high school to their K-8 system.
The state Board of Education, which endorsed such an election only four months ago, will be presented with a recommendation to reverse its own ruling next week during a two-day meeting of trustees in Sacramento.
The change of heart comes in the wake of two lawsuits filed by the Centinela Valley Union High School District, which claims the state board failed to study the environmental impacts associated with planting a high school in the Wiseburn district.
"The state board staff must no longer think it can successfully defend the Wiseburn decisions," said Daniel Wright, an attorney for Centinela, which has fervently opposed the independence bid of its smallest feeder district.
John Peterson, a chief proponent of Wiseburn's split, acknowledged the "temporary victory for Centinela Valley" but said he expected the secession movement would eventually regain traction.
"Yes, we're kind of upset, but we understand," Peterson said Tuesday. "It's just a delay. Unfortunately, the kids are going to get hurt off it."
Peterson and other residents of Wiseburn have fought for four years to establish a new high school administered by the 2,000-student district, which serves the communities of Del Aire, Wiseburn and west Hawthorne.
But officials with the Lawndale-based Centinela system insist that move would strip their high school district of 50 percent of its tax base -- this is important for the passage of future facilities bonds -- while taking roughly 3 percent of its students.
Following the state board's 10-0 vote Sept. 9, Wiseburn voters were originally set to have their say at the polls in March. However, a Superior Court judge last month granted an injunction postponing the election until a Centinela lawsuit could play out in court.
That suit, one of two filed by CVUHSD's attorneys, claims state trustees should have thoroughly examined the environmental effects of adding a high school to Wiseburn before making their decision.
Rather than commission a full environmental impact report, state education officials conducted an "initial study" of the proposal and concluded there would be no significant consequences.
And though a notice was posted in the Daily Breeze to comply with provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, the recommendation to be heard by the state board at its Jan. 12-13 meeting suggests more could have been done to seek public input.
CEQA was designed to foster participation, the recommendation says, "thus, if there is any possibility that the public was not sufficiently informed ... then it is important to provide another opportunity for such public comment and input."
Karen Steentofte, chief counsel for the Board of Education, declined to comment on the matter. But, according to the recommendation, Wiseburn's election should be overturned because the board's decision in September was based on an environmental analysis that may have been inadequate.
Wiseburn schools chief Don Brann, a leading advocate of unification, said it was better to have the state withdraw its endorsement now than to wait several months and have a judge come to the same conclusion.
The march to unification is not an easy one, he admitted, but he was confident it would all pay off in the end.
"You don't realize all the pitfalls and the amount of patience that you need to have," Brann said. "What you need to do is keep your eye on the prize and you need to remember what you're trying to achieve -- and that's Wiseburn unified.
"The time is not as important as achieving the goal," he added.
Cheryl White, superintendent of the Centinela Valley district, wasn't ready to declare victory Tuesday but she did characterize the recommendation as a "positive" step.
"Obviously, they feel that they want to have some additional time to maybe take another look at their analysis," she said.
White said she was hoping that the state would at least expand the election to include all of Centinela Valley rather than just Wiseburn.
"I want to be fair to everybody," she said.
Meanwhile, White said officials with the high school district have moved ahead with what they view as an alternative to Wiseburn's secession. On Dec. 9, the Centinela school board authorized the development of a plan to bring a charter high school to the Wiseburn area.
A lot of issues would have to be dealt with to make that prospect a reality, including how Centinela would pay for extra facilities. But charter schools are already operating within the boundaries of Centinela's three other feeder districts: the Hawthorne, Lawndale and Lennox systems.
Nevertheless, Brann called the offer "a smokescreen" and said Wiseburn residents are not interested in a charter school run by Centinela Valley.
"If we put our seal of approval on something, it's quality," he said, "and they haven't experienced that with the high school district."