SF George Washington High, removal of Victor Arnautoff's "Life of Washington" mural

To Whom It May Concern:

I hereby request records pursuant to the California Public Records Act.

The decision concerning removal of Victor Arnautoff's "Life of Washington" mural at San Francisco George Washington High has been covered in the US national media for the last several weeks.

Various reports quote different amounts for the removal budget, ranging from 600 to 825 thousand dollars. To an outsider, these numbers appear peculiarly high for the amount of work which appears to be involved, even if the paintings were to be carefully sandblasted, chipped away or scraped off instead of just being painted over.

The following records are therefore requested:

1) The detailed decision as issued by your school district's commissioners, with any annexes or referenced documents, detailing exactly the work which is to be carried out, and the budget allocation.

2) Any report, study, comparative analysis, weighing the various options in technical and financial terms, including any necessary ancillary expenses, e.g., structural, protection (asbestos abatement?), third party compensation, etc., as submitted for decision.

As the murals have been debated for most of their existence since these were painted in the 1930s, quite a mass of documents probably exists. This request is limited to see the most current set of options as they may have been available to the commissioners for their decision taking.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Alexandre Kampouris