Cerritos : ABC Capital Projects Pared

During a marathon meeting Monday, the ABC Unified School District board took a step closer to deciding how it will spend more than $6 million in building funds.

The seven-member board pared a list of 80 possible capital improvement projects, which had been complied for more than a year from suggestions of community and district representatives and the board members.

The remaining list of 25 projects includes a controversial issue that has simmered for a number of years over whether to build a gym, lockers and showers at Whitney High School, the district’s college-preparatory school.

The board made no final decision but requested the district staff to return as soon as possible with a cost estimate for each of the 25 projects. The board is expected to then rank the projects in order of priority.

While the board did not decide on the most urgent project, all members “were pretty much,” in agreement that air conditioning and covered eating areas are a priority for all schools, said Charles Ledbetter, acting superintendent.

The building funds are a combination of money received by the district from the 1984 sale of Bloomfield Elementary School, interest collected on the money and state matching money. The district closed Bloomfield School because of declining enrollment and sold it to the Hawaiian Gardens Redevelopment Agency for $3 million.