L.A. School Officials Get Earful From City Council

Howard Miller, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s chief operating officer, accepted an invitation to brief the City Council on Friday on the district’s plans for building new campuses, and was greeted with a barrage of complaints.

The swipes began as soon as Miller began to speak, when Councilman Mike Hernandez cut him off.

“Why is the superintendent not here? Are you the superintendent?” Hernandez loudly inquired.

Other members followed with more subdued criticisms, blaming the district for not informing neighborhood residents about major school construction projects in their districts.

Miller’s visit came after his recommendation this week that the district scrap plans to use the troubled Belmont Learning Complex as a school. The proposed high school campus has been plagued by environmental and other problems.

Miller appeared at the council with Board of Education member Valerie Fields. He briefed members on the district’s long-term strategy for dealing with campus overcrowding, which will emphasize modernizing existing school sites and increasing their capacity.

Infuriated by the plan to scrap the Belmont school project, Hernandez, whose council district includes the area served by the campus, continued to berate Miller.

“I’d like to say I appreciate the fact that Howard Miller and Valerie Fields are here, but I don’t,” he said.

Hernandez said the school district ignores neighborhood concerns when it expands school sites, and does not keep his office informed of projects in his district.

“I’ve been actively trying to work with the school district, but it has not been reciprocal,” he said.

Although more subdued than Hernandez, other council members also told Miller that school construction projects often disregard neighborhood residents’ concerns. Councilman Nick Pacheco repeated a concern raised by Hernandez that the school district not try to build schools on industrial sites that might be used for economic development projects.

Referring to a site in his Eastside district, Pacheco said, “I’m putting you on notice that I’m going to do everything I can to protect it from the school board, to protect our economic interest.”

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski told Miller that she often hears of school projects “only after a problem has started.” She noted that the council was unusually united in its concerns. “Rarely have I heard us speaking in one voice,” she said.

At the behest of members Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mike Feuer, the council decided that a committee of city and school district officials should be created to discuss development projects. The council directed staff to work out details of such a joint panel and report back.

Miller said he would bring the council’s concerns up with the school board.