Board Will Consider Plan to Raze School

Despite overwhelmingly negative public reaction, a controversial proposal to tear down historic Beverly Hills High School and replace it with a high-rise development will be considered this month by the Board of Education.

The proposal to redevelop the high school site near Century City was one of several options included in a final report issued by the Beverly Hills Unified School District’s real estate committee. For nearly three years, the committee has been examining ways of developing district properties to raise money for the schools.

The committee touched off a storm of protest in March when it introduced in a preliminary report the idea of tearing down the high school. Since then, the committee has held five public hearings, incorporating public reaction in its final report.

The Board of Education plans to discuss the findings in the report at its June 27 meeting.

Committee Chairman Kenneth Goldman added that the community will have to make some difficult choices.

“How do you balance the educational needs of children, the needs for smaller class sizes and teachers salaries with the environmental concerns like open space, density and traffic?” he asked.