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Mary Gardner apologizes to city council
By Leigh Ann Maze
Saratoga Union School District superintendent Mary Gardner and SUSD board president Stephanie Petrossi attended the Saratoga City Council meeting on June 7 to apologize. They responded to the city's accusation that the district failed to uphold its end of an agreement before cutting down a eucalyptus tree on the Saratoga School campus on May 3.
In the summer of 1998, an architect's plans for the expansion of Saratoga School called for the removal of two large eucalyptus trees for safety reasons and to create a larger play field. In June 1999, after much public debate over the fate of the trees, the city council and the SUSD signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement stated that the SUSD would forward a copy of the arborist's report to the city, hold a public hearing before either of the two 100-year-old eucalyptus were cut, and wait three weeks between forwarding the report and holding the meeting.
At the June 7 council meeting, Mayor Stan Bogosian asked for an explanation as to why the agreement was not followed.
Gardner apologized to the city on behalf of the district. She also expressed her apologies in a letter she sent to the city on May 12. Gardner said it was a "failure of memory."
"Sometimes you can't remember from one year to the next every little item you agree to," Petrossi added.
Councilman Evan Baker responded, "It's true we do forget small things. This was not a small thing."
Gardner requested an opportunity to sit down and go over the whole agreement with council members. The two parties agreed to discuss the cooperation agreement, and any other issues, at an adjourned council meeting on July 11, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Adult Care Center in the Saratoga Community Center.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
