Editor:

In response to Dave Robert’s article April 15 in the Press: A jury trial has been set for August to determine if the owners of the Delta and Sellers property (the current planned location of the fourth Liberty Union High School District high school site) should be entitled to $8 million over and above the $3 million paid for this site.

There have been many objections, including mine, regarding this poor location for a fourth high school. I believe this lawsuit may provide a great opportunity for the LUHSD to reconsider this site. Again, I highly respect and honor our current and past board members for their hard work. Their direction has provided a great education for many young adults, including my own.

However, this fourth LUHSD high school location I must disagree with, as I believe it will create a danger to the students and the traffic around it. As has been said before, there are substandard roads with no plan for upgrades soon, major railroad crossings that will not be modified, no place to eat off campus, no place to fuel, no public transportation, no city services, substandard fire resources, substandard police resources, agricultural spraying, and more. It is a bad location.

The public will have a very hard time passing another (tax) bond to build a school at this site. To compound the problem, there is a possibility the property will cost another $8 million to the district (taxpayers) before anything further happens. I believe the school district, based on this lawsuit, should motion the court to invalidate the entire transaction, as there has not been a final agreed-on price. This would solve many issues all at once.

The probable $11 million cost (not including attorney fees , etc.) could provide substantial improvements and expansions at the current high schools if invalidated. Using the $11 million for existing high school location expansions will allow time for a more in-depth study for the fourth high school.

The best area is closer to major Oakley development near the Cypress corridor. Oakley officials have supported placing a high school in that area. There are improvement plans for roads, there is a new fire station planned, the city provides local police services, utilities are already installed, a huge Delta interpretative center is planned, agricultural pesticide use is less likely, the railroad crossing on Cypress has been improved, and one major development negotiation could result in a very reduced price (if not free) for land to build the new fourth high school.

Motion the court to invalidate this transaction based on the $8 million lawsuit. It is the right thing to do and makes sense.

John A. Gonzales, Knightsen