By Nancy Gutierrez
The Lindsay Unified School District has been fielding calls regarding a political sign located on a building being rented by the district.
A warehouse used for storage located on Sweet Brier Avenue has been rented by the district since 1989. The district only rents out one side of the building. The other is currently vacant. The owner of the building, Jim Holve, placed a sign supporting Allen Ishida, who is running for the District 1 Supervisor seat on the vacant side of the building.
Assistant Superintendent Frances Holdbrooks said public entities are not allowed to participate in political endeavors as part of both the state education codes and the Political Fair Practices Act. Residents who know the law have expressed concern about the sign; however, the school does not own the building and cannot remove the sign.
"If it had been on the side that we rent we could have asked him to remove it, but it's not and the building isn't ours," Holdbrooks said. "We are not supporting a particular candidate." Holdbrooks said Superintendent Janet Kliegl has spoken to Holve about possibly removing the sign to avoid confusion. She said Holve's response was that he would think about it.
