L.A. School Board to Let Romer Explore Options for Belmont

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday gave Supt. Roy Romer permission to explore the possibility of opening the Belmont Learning Complex or selling the property.

The board voted 4 to 3 to pursue three options put forward by Romer, all meant to interest the private sector in determining the fate of the project.

Under one option, firms would propose ways to clean up and monitor the environmental hazards on the property so that it would be suitable as a school site. Bidders would have to meet safety standards set by the state and guarantee a maximum price. They also would propose ways to protect the district against potential lawsuits.

A second option calls for buyers to make offers to purchase the land, clean it up, finish the nearly completed school and lease it back to the district.

A third option calls for selling the 35-acre parcel and ending the district’s involvement in the property.

The school board voted in January to abandon the school amid concerns that the presence of explosive methane gas and toxic hydrogen sulfide made it unsafe for children. It also discontinued a state-supervised study that would have determined what would be required to make the site safe and how much that would cost.

Romer has said that he would like to see Belmont open, as long as it can be made safe. Given the board’s reluctance, he broadened his proposal to include the other options. He expressed satisfaction after the board’s vote Tuesday, saying the action would now clear the way to make a final decision on the project.

“We’ll get all the facts,” he said. “If it can be made safe, I want to use it as a school. This is an ideal way to see.”

Belmont supporters viewed the action cautiously, saying they doubt the board will reverse course and decide to open the school.

“It’s still just a possibility,” said board member Victoria Castro, the board’s most vocal advocate of opening the school. “Parents look at it as a false hope.”

In addition to Castro, board members Caprice Young, Mike Lansing and President Genethia Hayes voted to endorse Romer’s plan. Board members David Tokofsky, Valerie Fields and Julie Korenstein voted against it.

Hayes and Young were among a majority that voted to kill Belmont in January. Both said they remained opposed to the school but wanted to stand behind Romer as he searches for alternatives.

“I haven’t changed my mind. Belmont isn’t safe,” Hayes said. “I agreed to support the superintendent as he looks for options.”

Young said: “I haven’t changed my vote. I still believe we should sell the school site.”

Under the new plan, requests for private bids will be issued as early as Feb. 1. Bidders would get 90 days to submit their proposals. If the dates are all met, the board could be ready to make a decision in June, according to a copy of Romer’s plan.

Korenstein and Fields blasted their colleagues for endorsing Romer’s proposal, saying it will mislead parents in the crowded downtown neighborhoods around the Belmont site.