Cerritos : ABC Computer Tiff Resolved

U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian has told the ABC Unified School District to allow the Parents Teachers Students Assn. to use the computer at Whitney High School to publish the association’s newsletter.

The district administration and the PTSA agreed to abide by the judge’s suggestion that the association be allowed to use the school computer at least four hours a week to put out the newsletter and other needed business, said Jim Baca, attorney for the district.

The district and the association had been embroiled in a battle since June over the shredding of the PTSA newsletter because of a controversial article.

“The June issue of the newsletter was destroyed by a school official,” said Carol Sobel, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU went to court on behalf of members of the PTSA after the editor of the newsletter was told in late September that the computer was not available for the association’s use, Sobel said.

Judge Tevrizian asked the parties to work out their disagreements and suggested that the association be allowed four hours each week, Sobel said.

The district did not want to stop publication of the newsletter but “to tone down what was in it,” said Mara Clisby, assistant to the superintendent.

The June newsletter contained an article about two district teachers who were opponents of Whitney High School and were leading an effort to have the school investigated and possibly closed. The teachers, from Gahr High School, accused Whitney of being elitist.