Plan to Share Profits in Developing School Site to Be Aired at Hearing

A proposal for commercial development of a closed Sepulveda school site in which the Los Angeles Unified School District would share profits with the developer will be aired at a public hearing that has been rescheduled for April 30.

“It is the first time the district is considering participating with . . . a private developer,” district spokesman Marty Estrin said of the proposal for the site of Parthenia Street Elementary School. “This is something new . . . rather than selling off the property, to make it available to a developer and to continue sharing in the profits of the development.”

The area surrounding the school is zoned for commercial use, Estrin said.

Proposal for 2 Other Schools

The hearing, originally scheduled for April 16, will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m April 30 at the Holmes Junior High School Auditorium, 9351 Paso Robles Ave., Northridge. Also on the agenda is the proposed leasing of the Garden Grove Elementary school in Reseda and Prairie Street Elementary School in Northridge.

Another hearing will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. next Tuesday at the Parkman Junior High School Auditorium, 20800 Burbank Blvd., Woodland Hills, to hear comments on a proposal to sell Collier Street Elementary School in Woodland Hills and to lease Collins Street Elementary School, also in Woodland Hills.

Public responses to the proposed leasing of Enadia Way and Highlander Avenue elementary schools, both in Canoga Park, and Hughes Junior High School in Woodland Hills will also be sought at the hearing April 23.

Both hearings will be conducted by the Districtwide Underutilized School Sites Committee, an 11-member advisory committee to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. The committee includes a teacher, a school principal and nine community representatives. Final decisions on the fate of the sites will be made by the district board, Estrin said.

Hearings on the disposition of closed public school sites are mandated by recent state legislation, Estrin said.

He said people wishing to address the committee should arrive at the meetings beforehand to put their names on a sign-up sheet. Written statements also may be submitted.

Statements also may be mailed to the Districtwide Underutilized School Sites Committee, 450 N. Grand Ave., Room A-425, Los Angeles, Ca. 90012.