Local News in Brief : School Closure Unsettled

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Tuesday turned down a request for a preliminary injunction that would have barred the planned closure of Miraleste High School by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. But Judge Miriam A. Vogel also ruled that the district must consider the environmental effect of the closure on the east side of the peninsula, where a group of parents is fighting to keep Miraleste open beyond June while they attempt to form a separate school system.

District spokeswoman Nancy Mahr said trustees will meet next Monday to decide whether to appeal Vogel’s ruling or undertake an environmental study, steps that could take months. The Peninsula district has lost more than 40% of its enrollment and closed seven schools in the past 15 years.