L.A. District Will Soon Have Quake Repair Funds in Pocket

In an unexpected example of cooperation between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the federal government, school officials announced Monday that they expect to receive nearly all the money necessary to repair earthquake-damaged campuses by the end of the month.

Just nine days shy of the two-year anniversary of the Northridge earthquake, district officials said Monday the recovery program is expected to total $350 million--much more than originally projected. Of that money, about $210 million is expected to be received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency; $83 million from the U.S. Department of Education; $42 million from the district’s own coffers under a special federal matching program, and $16 million from the state.

The partial shutdown of the federal government, which lasted nearly three weeks, delayed the funding of several district projects, but FEMA and district officials said they expect that money to be approved in the next few weeks.

“We would have made our deadline of Dec. 31 [to fund these projects] if we had not been furloughed,” said Leland Wilson, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer. “We feel we’ve really developed a very good partnership . . . to get the major issues worked out.”

Officials of the school district last year blasted the agency for ignoring school repairs in favor of freeways and hospitals. The district accused the agency of stalling on large projects; FEMA disputed the accusations in a series of back-and-forth charges and denials.

But school district officials said Monday that they were pleased with the rapidity with which repairs are being funded.

Of the district’s 5,333 buildings damaged, 3,229 have been completely repaired. Another 1,770 buildings are currently being repaired.

But repair work for another 334 buildings remains to be funded, including some major projects. Kennedy High School’s gymnasium falls into that category, along with Monroe’s classroom building, lunch shelter and physical education building.

All repairs are expected to be completed or underway by next year, district officials said.

But work at Van Gogh Elementary School and Kennedy High probably will not be completed until 1998; Van Gogh is being completely rebuilt and Kennedy’s three-story administration building is also being rebuilt.

The district’s emergency preparedness program, including training of school employees for emergencies, is nearing completion, with all schools equipped with cargo containers to hold supplies and water for three days. Some of the supplies have already been stockpiled.

But Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias said the district needs to continue its training efforts annually.

“It’s only human nature for people to relax,” Zacarias told a Board of Education meeting. “In time, people will forget the impact of the Northridge earthquake. . . . We really don’t know the nature of the next emergency--only that it will occur.”

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The Jan. 17 quake, which occurred before dawn on a school holiday, damaged classrooms and offices from Northridge to West Los Angeles. Falling ceiling tiles smashed desktops, light fixtures came crashing down and several buildings sustained structural damage.

To prevent the same kind of problems in the future, the district is trying to replace lights and ceiling tiles in all schools--whether they were damaged two years ago or not.

But board President Mark Slavkin said he wants those projects expedited--before another earthquake hits.

“I’m still a bit impatient,” Slavkin said. “We just cannot continue to let time slip . . . when we could be moments away from another major earthquake.”