State Board OKs Buying Land for 2nd High School

The State Allocation Board has approved land acquisition for a second high school in South Gate in an attempt to relieve severe overcrowding at South Gate High.

The state and the Los Angeles Unified School District will split the cost of the land. The school district hopes to split construction costs but is committed to financing all of the work if state bond funds are unavailable, said Janalyn Glymph, director of project management and construction.

“This is a 50-50 project, and the district is committed to front-end the funding until state funds become available,” Glymph said. “An architect has been assigned.”

Because of Proposition BB, a $2.4-billion local bond measure passed last April, the district has the money but needs state approval in order to be reimbursed 50% when the next state bond measure is passed, Glymph said. The total cost of the project is estimated at $76 million, South Gate Councilman Hector De La Torre said.

A high school on the 28-acre site on Tweedy Boulevard east of Atlantic Boulevard next to Tweedy Elementary School will have room for about 2,800 students, De La Torre said.

“It will probably take several years before the new high school opens, but after you have been waiting 10 years this is definitely the last leg,” De La Torre said.