Huntington Beach : Burke School Committee Loses Round in Court

A parents’ committee formed to save Burke Elementary School from closing at the end of this school year lost a round in court on Thursday.

Commissioner Ronald Bauer of Orange County Superior Court denied the committee’s request that he issue a temporary restraining order against the closure. Bauer set a July 8 hearing for another committee motion asking for a preliminary injunction against the closure.

The parents’ group, SOS Burke Committee, contends that the Huntington Beach City School District Board of Trustees did not give adequate notice to the public in voting to close the school. The committee also alleged that the board did not file an environmental impact study on the effect of the school closing.

In her arguments defending the board on Thursday, attorney Patricia Eyres said the school board had fully complied with state law in announcing the closure. Eyres also argued that the state Court of Appeal, in a 1980 Pasadena school case, ruled that a school closure does not require an environmental impact statement.