Dear fellow citizens and park supporters, We are hoping for your support again this Tuesday, February 28th, at 8:00 a.m. at the Shasta SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) Governing Board meeting. The location is 1644 Magnolia Avenue, Redding, in the Aspen Room at the SCOE main office. This is an important meeting. The SELPA Board is one of two boards which approved the demolition of Magnolia Park in September. If the Board chooses to seriously consider alternative locations for the location of a new special education therapy building (MTU), there is a good chance the park will remain intact. Like the February 15th Shasta County Board of Education meeting, the SELPA meeting has the MTU location on the agenda as a discussion only item, meaning that no actions can be taken by the Board at the meeting. Nonetheless, action may be taken at future meetings, and it is up to us to continue encouraging the decision makers to realize the park’s value, to look into alternatives, and to act in a way that benefits both the children being served by the MTU and the children who use the park. The SELPA Board needs to see your face and/or hear your voice! At the meeting, the Citizens for Magnolia Park will give a brief presentation to the SELPA Board, and members of the public will have up to 5 minutes each to speak to the Board. Key points to portray are the value of the park, the availability of alternative building sites (for example Redding School District’s offer to house the MTU on one of its campuses, or the 12,400 square feet of currently unutilized space in the parking lot adjacent to Magnolia Park, while the MTU is 4,200 square feet), and the lack of public notification prior to approval of plans to locate the MTU upon the park. Thank you in advance for your willingness to come to this meeting (possibly again!) in support of Magnolia Park. Your voice matters! Sincerely, Citizens for Magnolia Park