Graduation update, and something I need to tell you

You signed the petition to bring LBHS graduation back to the Irvine Bowl. I want to update you on where things stand.

The board voted 3–2 on February 26 to return graduation to the Bowl. A federal lawsuit was filed on June 2 to force it back to the football field. The judge denied it on June 5. On June 11, our seniors graduated at the Irvine Bowl, where Laguna seniors have graduated for generations. We did that together and the graduation was beautiful!

Now I need to tell you the rest.

I'm running for school board. So is Dee Perry, who cast one of the three votes to bring graduation back to the Irvine Bowl. Three of five School Board seats are on the ballot for the November 3 election and the three FUEL PAC candidates running as a slate against us have made it clear they'd revisit the graduation decision. One of them—Joan Malczewski— described herself on a podcast this week as "agnostic" about where graduation is held.

If all three win, they are the majority, and the next graduation decision is theirs.

If you can vote in Laguna Beach and you want graduation to stay at the Bowl, I'm asking you directly: vote for Dee Perry and Elizabeth Bates, and only those two. You have three votes. Using only two is called bullet voting, and it's the single most effective thing you can do for us.

Dee and I are not a slate. We're two independent votes, with no PAC behind us. Our donors are public.

Thank you for signing. Thank you for showing up to help preserve one of our most beloved traditions in Laguna Beach— over 70 years of graduates at the Bowl! I’m asking you to please show up one more time. For more information please visit our website at www.rootsandresultslaguna.com

Elizabeth Bates