The $64-Million Trump Question

Los Angeles badly needs another high school in the Mid-Wilshire area to relieve the overcrowding that requires thousands of youngsters to spend up to three hours a day on a bus going to schools in outlying areas. But the old Ambassador Hotel is simply not the best site for a new campus.

The state Allocation Board on Wednesday gave the nod to plans by the Los Angeles Unified School District to build on the grounds of the old hotel and provided $50 million to pay for a large chunk of the 23.5-acre site. That’s just one victory, however.

Donald Trump paid $64 million for the site last year. No one should be surprised, given his reputation as an aggressive entrepreneur and unyielding deal-maker, that his aide would predict the ultimate property cost to go as high as $150 million. Trump isn’t likely to roll over and make a sweet deal with the school district, even on behalf of children sorely in need.

The expected legal battles are likely to cost millions--money that could be much better spent by the financially strapped district. School Board President Jackie Goldberg has declared confidently that the board could proceed and even finish the school before the litigation is resolved. But given the resources of the Trump forces, how much of Goldberg’s prediction is realistic--and how much of it is based on a stubborn glee for temporarily besting Trump? Sure, it feels good, but is a protracted court fight with Trump in the best interests of schoolchildren?

The board has proposed putting stores near the school on the old hotel site to help offset expenses. A similar creative mix--commercial use and a campus--works in other cities. The concept is certainly worth exploring here, but not on this high-priced site.

Homes are also at the heart of the district’s dilemma. The board is reluctant to condemn housing if vacant land is available. That is an admirable and compassionate position given the scarcity of affordable housing around town. But, really, how available is the Ambassador site?

It’s true that other sites would require the district to take modest houses, low-rent apartments and commercial buildings as well as face fierce community opposition. The competing needs--homes versus a school--force a very tough choice. But the district’s climbing enrollment requires the board to balance the needs of a few families against the needs of thousands of families with children in public schools.

The Los Angeles Unified School District spends more than $6 million a year to bus 4,500 high-school students from the crowded neighborhoods served by Los Angeles High and Belmont High. Those youngsters, and their younger brothers and sisters, must not wait years for a new school--and much of that time on a freeway.