Zacarias Outlines Steps on Environmental Hazards

Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ruben Zacarias has outlined steps to address new criticism of the district’s handling of environmental hazards.

A report released this week said the environmental health and safety branch put politics ahead of science in evaluating hazards, deleted findings considered “too scary” for the community and sanitized information given to outside investigators.

The report, by Public Interest Investigations Inc., also said other district units, such as the real estate branch, influenced the environmental branch to downplay environmental concerns regarding potential school sites.

“The entire district must be put on notice that minimizing environmental concerns will not be tolerated,” Zacarias said Thursday.

Zacarias said that in recent months the district has transferred all California Environmental Quality Act assessments from the real estate branch to the environmental health and safety branch. It has also appointed a former high-ranking Massachusetts environmental official to head the environmental branch; appointed a safety team that has made tough, no-nonsense reports to the board; and stripped the maintenance and operations staff of all environmental oversight.