L.A. Schools Failing to Prepare for Next Quake : Safety: Few classrooms have been made more secure, despite deadline set for Friday. Some officials say they would rather use the money as intended, for basic supplies.

Many Los Angeles schools have failed to take even the most elementary steps to make classrooms safer despite predictions that students and teachers could be seriously injured in their classrooms during the next big earthquake.

Drawing on lessons from the Northridge quake, Los Angeles Unified School District officials issued a bulletin two months ago requiring all principals to improve classroom safety by Oct. 14, using money from their school supply accounts.

But many principals say they have not even seen the memo and they are reluctant to spend money earmarked for classroom supplies--such as pencils, paper, chalk and computers--on bolts and brackets.

Since the early morning temblor rocked the city nine months ago, district officials have said repeatedly that schools remain the safest place for students during an earthquake or any other emergency. They boast that no school buildings collapsed--even in areas closest to the epicenter where apartments, houses, malls and freeways were shaken apart.

But at the same time, they and other officials say the greatest threat at schools to students and staff remains inside the classroom. It was in classrooms where bookcases toppled; televisions and overhead projectors were shattered; cabinets and closet doors flew open, spilling their contents, and chemicals and other science equipment created hazardous spills.

Still, at dozens of schools in the district, the potential hazards remain. Bookcases remain unbolted to the walls, boxes are precariously stacked inside high closets, televisions are not anchored to carts, and chemicals remain unsecured in some science labs.

“The Northridge earthquake confirmed that non-structural hazards can be life-threatening in schools,” said Tom Tobin, executive director of the state Seismic Safety Commission. “Falling (objects) from closets and cabinets can be a serious threat.”

In the Jan. 17 earthquake, much of the damage inside classrooms was caused by light fixtures and ceiling tiles crashing down. The district expects to correct those problems with federal funding.

But district officials say it is up to teachers and custodians to take basic steps to make their classrooms safer--removing heavy items from high shelves, bolting bookcases to the walls, strapping cabinet doors shut and securing heavy pictures and bulletin boards.

“It’s not that big a deal to secure those things,” said Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias, who oversees the district’s earthquake safety committee.

There is no state law or regulatory agency that deals with non-structural classroom safety issues. Dennis Bellet, the principal structural engineer with the state architect’s office, said a guidebook was issued to warn districts of potential problems, but no one regulates or inspects the campuses.

“It falls on the local school districts to control that issue,” Bellet said. “We’re definitely learning how widespread these problems (in classrooms) are. It used to be a suspicion but now it’s a reality.”

District officials say the costs to remove at least some classroom hazards are minimal, and the school system is seeking outside funding to reimburse schools’ supply accounts.

But at Limerick Avenue Elementary School in Canoga Park, Principal Ronni Ephraim had an outside earthquake preparedness company survey the campus and found that it would cost $600 just to quake-proof the school’s front office.

And at Sherman Oaks Elementary School, Principal Edward Krojansky said he is loath to use school materials money for earthquake supplies such as brackets and cables. “We have limited funds as it is,” Krojansky said.

*

At some schools, teachers and parent groups have made earthquake safety a priority since the quake. Teachers have removed potential hazards--such as boxes balanced on bookcases--and secured tall storage closets, and parents have financed earthquake preparations.

But even at Sherman Oaks, where parents bought a cargo container and filled it with earthquake supplies, the school’s classrooms are not risk-free.

In one room, a television sits on a glass cabinet; in another, an aquarium is on a cabinet, and bookcases are not bolted to the walls. Many classrooms still have free-standing, four-drawer filing cabinets.

Many teachers, parents and administrators are questioning whether it should be their responsibility--or the school district’s--to make classrooms safer.

“It’s not the teachers’ responsibility to be bolting bookcases,” said Francine Cantero, a science teacher and teachers union representative at Portola Junior High School in Tarzana. “There are things teachers can do to make things a little safer. (But) they certainly can’t invest any of their own money--we do that enough already.”

But Helen Fallon, who heads the Los Angeles Parent-Teacher Assn.’s earthquake preparedness committee, said teachers should take responsibility for arranging their classrooms to keep children safe. “It involves a lot of classroom reorganization--that’s all,” she said.

*

Fallon said parents and district officials should inspect schools to make sure safety measures have been taken. “I’ve seen classrooms where I’d say there are major problems. I’ve seen classrooms that look like teachers’ personal storage containers.”

But Zacarias said the district does not have the personnel to inspect all schools for safety compliance, although he does intend to ask administrators to conduct spot checks of some classrooms.

Unlike some school systems, the Los Angeles district has not conducted a survey to determine how much needs to be done to quake-proof classrooms. The Burbank and Glendale school districts have compiled school-by-school surveys and are securing classroom furniture.

Los Angeles Board of Education members, who recently requested more information on the potential risks to students and teachers in classrooms, said they believe local campuses should be more vigilant.

“It is something that is so easily within our grasp to make sure materials are tied down, cabinets secured,” board President Mark Slavkin said. “I want to be assured that schools have taken the steps necessary.”