LOS ANGELES : School Board Reaffirms Rejection of Hotel Site

The Los Angeles Board of Education will stick with its decision to abandon plans to build a high school on the site of the historic Ambassador Hotel, despite the forfeiture of $20 million in state school construction funds and a threatened legal fight with landowner Donald Trump.

The board voted last week to walk away from a protracted legal battle with Trump over the value of the Mid-Wilshire site because of a district cash crunch and plummeting real estate values. The issue has been headed to court for settlement, where the likely outcome would have forced the district to pay far more for the land than its 1993 value and the $50 million allocated by the state to buy it.

Instead, the district gained state approval to buy a $30-million property near downtown, but will forfeit the remaining $20 million that had been allocated for the Ambassador site. School board members discussed the impact of the forfeiture Monday.

“We are not happy that the $20 million does not remain with us to do with it as we see fit, but we got the main thing we wanted--a site for a new high school,” said board member Jeff Horton.

School district attorney Richard Mason said that the Trump organization will be served with the official abandonment documents within several weeks, and said he is confident that Trump’s threat to sue the district for damages will not hold up in court.

Trump representative Barbara Res rebuked the district for unfairly tying up the property. Although no firm decision has been made, Trump will probably sue for damages, she said.