I want to thank Mr. Irwin for his letter to the editor that appeared in another local publication regarding the Lindbergh School District’s Proposition R.

He correctly described the situation as “Sperreng is popping at the seams,” and I also agreed with his assessment, “to reopen Truman Elementary to a second middle school and split the students at Sperreng. That is a fine idea and should have been done about five years ago.”

However, Mr. Irwin is mistaken in that he appears to believe that Proposition R includes a new elementary school. This is not the case. Proposition R is a no-tax-levy-increase plan that establishes two middle schools, Sperreng and Truman; reopens Concord as an elementary school, restoring the neighborhood schools model; and relocates the early education program.

I also need to correct his perception that the input process that resulted in Proposition R was controlled by the district’s administration. The original committee consisted of 52 participants, which included only two Central-Office staff members.

Three proposals were then presented via an independent survey to a random sample of the Lindbergh community. Proposition R received 86 percent support. Having been privileged to serve the Lindbergh community for the past 15 years, let me assure Mr. Irwin that in the best tradition of the Lindbergh community that no one, especially public officials, controls or manipulates the Lindbergh voters.

Patrick Lanane

assistant superintendent /chief financial officer

Lindbergh School District