School Board May Act on Temporary Site for Tweedy

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education is expected to discuss action Monday that would allow the closure of pollution-plagued Tweedy Elementary School in South Gate.

If the board gives final approval to a three-year lease agreement with the City of South Gate, the school’s students will be moved temporarily to a portion of South Gate Park.

The school district’s Building Committee approved the lease agreement on Thursday before sending it to the full board.

The South Gate City Council earlier approved the lease agreement that calls for the district to pay the city $225,000 over three years for use of the land. The state Department of Parks must also give its approval.

Work could begin in mid-November on three acres in the northeast corner of the park, formerly used as the city’s archery range, said Dominic Shambra, administrator of special projects for building services for the school district.

Portable classrooms would be moved to the site to accommodate the school’s nearly 600 students, Shambra said. The students would move into the new site by February, Shambra said.

Health Hazards

Parents of Tweedy students have been concerned about possible health hazards at the school campus, which is at 5115 Southern Ave. next to an industrial park.

In February, 1986, the school was evacuated after chlorine gas leaked from the nearby Purex Corp. bleach plant. Last December, parents and others were alarmed when a caustic substance, apparently from the nearby Cooper Drum Co., began oozing through the ground in the schoolyard.

The district is looking for a permanent site for the school, and is considering using the same site where the district wants to build the South Gate Regional High School.

The high school site, a few blocks from the park and in a largely industrial area, is now undergoing an environmental impact study.

No decision has been made as to what the district will do with the current Tweedy campus after the school is closed.