Zacarias Blows the Whistle

Los Angeles schools Supt. Ruben Zacarias has heard the message of Proposition BB. He gets it. Before proceeds from the Los Angeles school bond can be allocated to a specific project, it must be reviewed by the oversight committee established to monitor use of the bond money. Anything less would break faith with the voters who approved the $2.4-billion measure last April. No review, no deal.

Zacarias kept his part of the bargain Monday when he ordered the school district staff to remove from the school board calendar the authorization of $36 million in BB funds for construction of an elementary school in Southeast Los Angeles. The school, needed to relieve overcrowding, has already been approved by the state and placed on the fast-track list. But the project has not been reviewed by the oversight committee. Didn’t the school district staff learn anything from the uproar over the Belmont Learning Center?

Just days after BB was approved, and before the oversight committee held its first meeting, the staff sought board authorization for the use of school bond proceeds to build the controversial Belmont school near downtown Los Angeles. Foul, cried the voters and, eventually, the courts. The furor eroded public confidence in district officials.

Now we have two bad staff decisions about Proposition BB money, indicating that Zacarias will have his hands full with some tough calls, including how to economically and quickly air-condition dozens of schools, a need that was one of the main selling points of BB. But as Zacarias told Times staff writer Amy Pyle: “If I have to stamp it on people’s heads, I will. If one penny of Proposition BB money is being used, [the project] must be reviewed and approved by the oversight committee.” The voters would agree.