LAUSD Gets Extra $20 Million to Fix Damaged Schools

A $20-million windfall of federal funds is allowing hundreds of Los Angeles schools to make earthquake-related repairs that otherwise would have drained money from classroom uses, officials said.

Most of the surplus will be spent on schools in the San Fernando Valley.

Earlier this fall, Congress liberalized rules governing how the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, disburses disaster aid, effectively permitting the agency to write a check in advance and justify the costs later.

This will allow the Los Angeles Unified School District to spend the full $200 million it was allotted for earthquake repairs, even though its original list of FEMA-approved repairs will cost only $180 million to complete. Previously, the LAUSD would have been required to return the surplus $20 million, and reapply for any additional funds.

The largest expenditure--$7 million--is going toward a new gymnasium at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, said Margaret Scholl-Fairlie, director of LAUSD’s earthquake recovery program.

Other projects include $700,000 for repairing pipe organs at Canoga Park, Van Nuys and Hollywood high schools; a new multipurpose room at San Fernando High School; new and repaired academic buildings at Carson High School; new facades at Wilson High School northeast of downtown; and wheelchair access at campuses hit hard by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

No Need to Divert Classroom Funding

All told, 330 schools--about half the campuses in the district--will share in the surplus funds.

Under the old rules, the district would have made the improvements without the extra cash, but would have been forced to borrow the funds and divert money from classrooms, Scholl-Fairlie said.

“It’s such a positive thing in that it saves all kinds of [local] taxpayer money,” Scholl-Fairlie said. “We would not have been able to fund these projects out of the general fund. It saves having a whole lot of hassle with FEMA people arguing over whether the work was essential, and it avoids further delays.”

The federal agency and the school district battled for six years over how much aid should be provided, Scholl-Fairlie said.

Eighteen months ago there was a $55-million gap between the federal agency’s offer and the district’s estimate of how much it would cost to finish the repairs, she said.

FEMA said, for example, it would cost $1.8 million to repair Kennedy High’s gym, but the district maintained that damage was severe enough to warrant tearing it down and building a new one.

“It got a little touchy,” Scholl-Fairlie said. “We were going to have to keep haggling with them.”

The two sides settled on the $200 million total only after a nudge from Congress, which in 1998 changed FEMA rules temporarily to settle a broad range of Northridge earthquake claims. Congress made the changes permanent on Oct. 30.

“We’ve reinvented the process to give local governments more budget control,” said FEMA Disaster Recovery Manager David Fukutomi. “They can make better business decisions by getting the money faster without the endless inspections and documentation.”

Although the Los Angeles school district and FEMA maintain that the district earned the surplus by efficiently managing relief funds, a critic of the federal agency said letting the schools keep the excess cheats taxpayers nationwide.

“If they’ve finished all their approved projects, why don’t they give the rest of the money back?” said Jim Bovard, an author who monitors the agency for public policy watchdogs such as the Cato Institute. “How can they say their estimates from just a year ago are now $20 million off? This sounds like a clear symbol of Congress saying it doesn’t [care] about American taxpayers.”

The Politics of Emergency Money

Bovard, who has written several books about limiting government, said some politicians are loath to crack down on FEMA, knowing they may one day have to turn to the agency in time of emergency.

“Congressmen grovel for FEMA money in their own districts,” he said. “There’s hardly any controversy over how the money’s spent because it’s spread so widely around the country and no one is watching. Do you want to be the congressman smeared for not supporting flood aid or the one in the photo helping victims in the center of ravaged buildings?”

The new funding method represents an about-face for FEMA, which has often granted less relief than disaster victims asked for, Fukutomi said. Formerly, victims were forced to return to FEMA for more money to finish repairs, and the agency would have to return to Congress to authorize the money.

The $20-million surplus does not mean LAUSD can go on a shopping spree, Fukutomi said.

“They might not have to write us a check back, but they still can only spend the money on certain types of projects,” he said. “And we verify the scope and use of all the funds. If they have extra money to make the schools safer, that’s good, too. That’s our ultimate goal.”

LAUSD is nearing completion on its earthquake recovery projects, and it has also concluded a significant portion of retrofit work in preparation for the next quake, said Julie Crumb, the district’s head of earthquake modernization.

A few campuses, such as Cleveland High School in Reseda, still have significant damage that officials say will be repaired with funds from FEMA’s original allocation, rather than the surplus, once contractor bids are finalized.

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Funds Channeled to Earthquake Programs

Since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded

$5.6 billion to public agencies for repairs and earthquake preparedness in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Unified School District was allotted a $20-million surplus after completing repairs approved by FEMA. The federal agency has said L.A. Unified can spend the funds on other earthquake-related projects.

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Researched by ZANTO PEABODY / Los Angeles Times