School Board Accused of Making Secret Deal to Buy Classrooms

Members of the volunteer committee that oversees $2.4 billion in school bond repairs accused the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday of using the veil of closed session to defy one of the committee’s recommendations.

In a letter to school officials, committee Chairman Steven Soboroff demanded that the school board reconsider its vote Monday authorizing the purchase of 57 two-story bungalows to relieve overcrowding.

The committee voted May 13 to recommend a limited trial of the prefab classrooms, which are more expensive than ordinary buildings and have never been used in the district.

Committee members said Tuesday that they were outraged not only that the board ignored their will, but did so without a public discussion.

District lawyers placed the question on the secret portion of Monday’s agenda under the theory that it related to litigation, an exemption to the state’s public meetings law. Bungalows fall under the litigation provision because they are covered in a consent decree that resulted from a lawsuit over the inequality of school campuses from such causes as overcrowding.