School board put itself into a difficult position

The Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees has unfortunately painted itself into a corner.

In January, it had a plan to rebuild the Mill Valley Middle School on its existisng site. That plan generated little controversy. Then, in February, the board introduced a new idea to build on Friends Field, an integral part of the beloved Mill Valley Community Center.

This plan was made public without any consultation with city officials. Predictably, this has generated a political firestorm in Mill Valley from those who cherish the Mill Valley Community Center, as well as the events and daily programs on Friends Field.

Ironically, the Friends Field proposal also created controversy over reusing the existing middle school site from people who were previously told there were no alternative sites. Now, everyone is unhappy.

The school board has set its March 7 meeting to make a decision on which site to use to keep the project on schedule and to avoid escalating costs. Unfortunately, most of the information needed to help make a decision on whether to proceed with the Fiends Field site is not yet available.

Engineering studies, permitting questions and legal authorizations are all unsettled. They will not be available by March 7. Given the number of unanswered questions about the Friends Field site, I think the risks are too great. The board has a fiscal duty to drop the Friends Field site idea and proceed with their previous plans, or look for other alternatives.

Another risk for the board is that this breach of trust could imperil future bond elections to failure.

Had the Friends Field proposal been part of the bond election materials, last year's Measure G tax proposal benefitting the district never would have passed.