SCHOOL REPORT : <i> News from the L.A. Unified School Board meeting.</i> : $141 Million in Building Funds OKd

The board Monday authorized issuing $141 million in certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds, for various building projects. They include $71.3 million for construction of a permanent building for the King / Drew Medical magnet school, $12.5 million to buy land for Monte Vista School and regional offices, $10.5 million for land and a parking structure for the East Los Angeles Skill Center, and $29.9 million for computer components to develop an integrated financial system.

The board also:

* Unanimously authorized purchase of new social studies textbooks for kindergarten through eighth grade, ending months of debate. The series won unanimous approval after the publisher, Houghton Mifflin, agreed to provide additional materials on the contributions of major ethnic groups and women. It also will follow recommendations of a broad group of religious leaders in developing materials on the historical roles of different religions. The additional materials, to be developed in conjunction with several school advisory groups, will be available between July and September.

* Scheduled a vote on the district’s so-called “common calendar,” which would officially put all schools into year-round operation, for the next board meeting March 18. Board members, who have been grappling with such issues as how to find the $3.7 million needed to make the change and how to accommodate child-care needs, athletic schedules and outside activities, will hear public testimony before the vote. Under the proposed calendar, schools on a single track--in which all students have vacations at the same time--will start on Aug. 19. Those with staggered schedules, known as multitrack, will begin July 5.