State to Probe District’s Claim of Quake Damage

A joint legislative committee on Tuesday ordered an audit into whether the Los Angeles Unified School District made proper use of emergency government funds to move much of its business operations into a tony downtown high-rise more than a year after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, has accused school officials of exaggerating claims of earthquake damage to their old business services center to justify signing a $38.7-million lease for more than 11 floors at the IBM Tower on Bunker Hill.

Wildman said he requested the audit because a preliminary investigation raised “serious questions” about the transaction--including why the school district waited a year to declare an earthquake safety emergency at its old business center, located on South San Pedro Street. He said the review, to be conducted by the California state auditor, will also explore the use of millions of dollars in emergency funds by the district to move its employees and help underwrite the IBM tower lease, which expires in 2002.

School officials have vigorously defended the move and their use of the money, saying it was expended properly after two engineering studies confirmed the old business center was “extremely vulnerable” to a moderate temblor.

A spokesman said Tuesday the district will “cooperate fully” with the audit, which was approved 10-0 by the committee in Sacramento. The review is expected to be completed by the fall.