Bradley Pushing ‘L.A.’s Best’ : Mayor Seeks to Expand After-School Program Despite Cost

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley led a parade of officials through classrooms at Sylmar Elementary School on Wednesday to showcase a pilot program that Bradley said should be expanded to provide after-school academic enrichment and recreation to all of the city’s elementary-age children.

But city and school district officials acknowledged that there are several obstacles to overcome before the city-funded program, now serving 2,000 students at 10 schools, can be offered permanently at all 434 elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The after-school pilot program, called “L.A.’s Best,” is being funded for 2 years with $2 million provided by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. An additional five schools will begin the 4-hour, after-school program next year, using a $500,000 contribution made in October by Kaiser Permanente, school district officials said.

But city and district officials estimate that it will cost more than $40 million a year to provide the service throughout the Los Angeles district. Students in the program receive classroom instruction and tutoring and engage in recreation supervised by teachers and volunteers until 6 p.m. each school day.

Dependent on City

“The district is dependent on Los Angeles for funds,” said school board President Roberta Weintraub, who also toured the school. “We just don’t have that kind of money.”

Before the city’s redevelopment agency can provide funds to operate a permanent districtwide program, the city must persuade a judge to remove a court-imposed limit on the use of the redevelopment money, the mayor said.

The limit came as the result of a lawsuit filed in 1977 by City Councilman Ernani Bernardi. The city settled the lawsuit, agreeing in a court decree to limit spending of redevelopment funds to $750 million.

But if Bradley gets his way, more than $4 billion would be made available over the next 20 years to fund programs such as after-school enrichment and recreation and low-cost housing, as well as a downtown face lift that would include construction of luxury condominiums and expensive rehabilitation of businesses, city officials said.

Under the redevelopment spending limit, revenue above $750 million must be dispersed to the county, city and schools until the Gann spending limit, a voter-imposed initiative that places a ceiling on the amount of taxes collected by cities and other agencies, is reached. After that, additional revenue must be returned to taxpayers.

Concern About the Poor

Critics of Bradley’s plan, including several public-interest groups, say that all of the property-tax revenue that goes to the redevelopment agency should be used to help the poor, instead of just part of it.

Bradley’s supporters say that failure to remove the spending limit will mean that neither schools nor the poor will benefit from the redevelopment revenue. But it is unknown how much of the $4 billion would be available to the county, city and schools if the court-imposed limit remains.

In his tour Wednesday, Bradley found few critics of his proposal. “Education is a critical need and that’s where the money should be spent,” he said.

Working parents said they do not have to worry about their children getting involved in gangs or drugs while they are in the after-school program. Sylmar Principal Yvonne Chan said that since the program started in October, she has received fewer complaints from the local convenience store and neighbors.

“Last year my children just came home, looked at TV or played on the street,” said Nanette Sheperd, who works during the day. “This gives them something to do.”

Kristian Fletcher, 8, and the rest of her third-grade classmates were making peanut butter cookies when Bradley and about 20 other city and school district officials visited. Kristian told the visitors that the project was part of this month’s “Health and Safety” theme at the Sylmar school.

“These are very nutritious because the peanuts have lots of protein,” Kristian said.

Hourly Rate

But Kristian’s teacher, Dayna Bliss, said that if the district expects to successfully recruit teachers at schools citywide, it must be willing to pay more than the $10 an hour teachers are paid for the extra work. Most teachers make two and three times that amount for regular classroom work, she said.

She and third-grade co-teacher Beth Maskowsky said they volunteered to work because they believe the project is a worthy one. “Plus, every little bit of money helps when you’re a young teacher just beginning,” Maskowsky said.