Beverly Hills to Pay Rent for Use of School Facilities

The city of Beverly Hills will pay the Beverly Hills Unified School District $2.2 million for a variety of services under an agreement designed to help the district balance its $26-million budget.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the City Council Tuesday night, the school district will receive $1.2 million a year in rent for the community to use school play yards, a swimming pool, tennis courts and auditoriums when students are not using them.

Under a separate agreement, the district will be paid $1 million to open five school libraries (Beverly Hills High, El Rodeo, Hawthorne, Beverly Vista and Horace Mann) to supplement the city’s library system after school. The district also will provide at least 30 hours of educational and cultural programs on community radio and cable TV channels.

The board allocated up to $82,000 for supplies and additional staff to provide the additional community services. Supt. Leon M. Lessinger said the costs are a necessary part of the agreement.

The agreement on the recreational facilities extends through June, 1989. The library agreement expires in June.

School board President Frank Fenton thanked the city for its efforts to reach an agreement with the district. “It was a tremendous effort on everyone’s part. Everything just seem to flow extremely positively,” he said.

The school district received more good news this week when officials of the Beverly Hills Education Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises funds for the schools, announced that it had made $135,000 at a Sept. 27 carnival at Roxbury Park attended by an estimated 12,000 people.