Funding Set, L.A. Unified Plans to Build

For the first time in decades, the Los Angeles Unified School District has money in the bank to fund a significant portion of its massive school construction needs.

The district’s building plans were elevated from theory to reality last week when a state agency voted to commit the remaining $468 million from the 1998 state school bond to Los Angeles. That, combined with local bond funds, is more than half the money needed to complete the 158 projects--new schools, expanded campuses and play areas--underway or planned.

For district officials, the vote by the State Allocation Board was a happy ending to a battle against smaller districts around the state. Two years ago, a Superior Court judge ruled that the state could not distribute the money to other districts that had less pressing needs but got applications in ahead of Los Angeles Unified.

But the district still has an enormous classroom shortage that can be overcome only if voters approve future bond authorizations, officials say. A $13-billion state bond and a $3.35-billion local bond will be on the November ballot.

If either bond should fail, the district would have to seek other sources of money, from developer fees to loans secured against the general fund. At worst, construction plans would have to be abandoned.

“I tell you, there are tough consequences if we don’t pass this bond,” said district Supt. Roy Romer.

Some of the 158 projects planned in the next five years are fully funded, but others are only funded partially or not at all and still require appropriations from the new bonds.

Those projects will accommodate enrollment growth over the next five years and do away with forced busing to relieve overcrowding.

The plans for the number and types of projects have been in flux for several years. Now, they call for 15 high schools, five continuation high schools, seven middle schools, 26 elementary schools and 26 primary centers for kindergarten through third grade.

In addition, 60 other campuses, mostly elementary schools, would be expanded and the playgrounds at 19 would be enlarged.

Construction is underway on a handful of the projects, and the pace will pick up dramatically by the end of this year. The schedule calls for completion of seven projects at the end of this year, 52 next year, 65 in 2004 and 19 in 2005.

Most of the new schools are to be in the most crowded areas of the city, including central and South Los Angeles and the east San Fernando Valley.

While they are supposed to get the most schools, these areas also face the greatest risk because more of the unfunded projects are in those highly urbanized areas, where the lack of vacant land slowed down the planning.

A community activist who has raised concerns about the pace of school construction in South Los Angeles praised the district’s effort with the applications.

“Our concern has always been for the equity of the allocation, not just for South L.A., for East L.A. and for the east Valley,” said Karen Bass, executive director of the Community Coalition.

“We’re really excited that the district qualified for so much money. We hope some of the projects are ones from the areas we feel are most critically in need.”

At the same time it is completing the current 158 projects, the district also is planning 140 to 160 additional schools needed to achieve Romer’s long-range goal of eliminating year-round schools.

Those projects would require billions of dollars more. The district has earmarked $1 billion from the November bond for future projects, and expects about $650 million from the new state bond.

District officials said they had not yet developed contingency plans for the possible defeat of either or both bond measures.

“There are so many scenarios that it’s kind of hard to figure,” said Beth Hamby, director of grants and funding for facilities.

In either case, the district or the state would put the measure on the subsequent ballot, leaving open the possibility that the money would come later.

Whatever happens, efforts are proceeding on designs, environmental studies and land acquisition for all 158 projects, using money remaining from Proposition BB, the district’s 1997 bond.

“We’re not going to be out of money and unable to go forward on election day,” Hamby said.

The State Allocation Board’s vote Wednesday brought to $693 million the total apportioned to the Los Angeles district from Proposition 1A, the 1998 state bond.

The path was a circuitous, however. The district soon fell behind in planning the schools because of management lapses and the difficulty of securing environmentally clean land in urban Los Angeles.

Other districts were rapidly exhausting the money when a group of Los Angeles civil rights activists filed a lawsuit.

A judge ruled that the law required the State Allocation Board to use a priority system ensuring the remaining $750 million went to districts with the greatest need.

Under formulas established to implement the ruling, Los Angeles Unified would have qualified for every application it could prepare by July.

Though its critics scoffed at the idea the district could process so many applications in time, it came through with applications for $916 million, far more than the amount available.

“This thing is like preparing for D-day,” Romer said. “We’ve been putting a lot of things in place to really do this construction right, in large volume, on time. We now have the capacity to do it. That’s why this money from the state is very important.”

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Construction Plans for L.A. Unified

Following are the 158 construction projects to alleviate overcrowding in the Los Angeles Unified School District:

*--* Community Project Arleta Beachy Avenue Elementary School addition East Valley area new senior high No. 2 Bell Bell No. 3 new primary center Bell new elementary school No. 3 Bell new middle school No. 3 addition Corona Avenue new primary center Woodlawn Elementary School modular addition Woodlawn Elementary School playground Beverlywood Hamilton High addition Boyle Heights Dena Elementary new primary center Brentwood Kenter Canyon Elementary School addition Canoga Park Canoga Park new primary center Crenshaw 6th Avenue Elementary School addition Cienega Elementary School addition Cudahy Hughes Elementary School playground Cypress Park Aragon Avenue Elementary School addition Loreto Street Elementary School addition Downtown Central L.A. area new senior high No. 9 East Los Angeles 4th Street new primary center Brooklyn Avenue Elementary School addition City Terrace Elementary School addition East L.A. area new senior high No. 1 Rowan Avenue new primary center El Sereno Wilson new elementary school Wilson High addition Florence-Graham Florence Avenue Elementary School playground Miramonte Elementary School addition Glassell Park Fletcher Drive Elementary School addition Hancock Park Van Ness Avenue Elementary School addition Franklin Avenue new primary center No. 1 Garvanza Elementary School playground Hollywood Alexandria Avenue Elementary School playground Alexandria Avenue new elementary school No. 1 Central L.A. area new senior high No. 1 Hollywood new continuation high school No. 1 Ramona Elementary School addition Ramona new elementary school Santa Monica Boulevard new primary center Vine Street Elementary School addition Huntington Park Huntington Park new elementary school No. 3 Huntington Park new elementary school No. 7 Middleton Street new primary center Miles Avenue Elementary School playground San Antonio Elementary School addition Southeast area new learning center State Street Elementary School playground State Street new elementary school No. 1 Hyde Park Crenshaw High addition Koreatown Belmont new elementary school No. 6 Belmont new elementary school No. 9 Belmont new elementary school No. 10 Cahuenga new elementary school No. 1 Central L.A. area new senior high No. 8 Central L.A. area new middle school No. 3 Central L.A. area new middle school No. 3A Commonwealth Avenue Elementary School addition Hobart Boulevard Elementary School addition Hoover Street Elementary playground Los Angeles new primary center No. 1 Los Angeles new primary center No. 5 Wilton Place Elementary School modular addition Lake View Terrace Fenton Avenue Charter School addition Los Feliz Los Feliz Elementary School modular addition Maywood Heliotrope Avenue Elementary School modular addition Loma Vista Avenue Elementary School addition Maywood new elementary school No. 5 Mid City Alta Loma Elementary School addition Arlington Heights Elementary School addition Central L.A. area new senior high No. 2 Community School addition Los Angeles new continuation high school No. 1 Magnolia Avenue Elementary School addition Pio Pico Elementary School playground Montecito Heights Hillside Elementary School playground Huntington Drive Elementary School addition Mount Washington Aldama Elementary School addition Mount Washington Elementary School addition North Hills Gledhill Street Elementary School addition Monroe new elementary school No. 2 North Hollywood East Valley area new senior high No. 1B East Valley area new middle school No. 1 Lankershim Elementary School addition North Hollywood new elementary school No. 3 North Hollywood new primary center No. 4 Oxnard Street Elementary School addition Victory Boulevard Elementary School playground Northridge Valley new senior high No. 1 Pacoima Maclay new primary center Pacoima Elementary School playground Palms Palms Middle School addition Panorama City East Valley area new senior high No. 3 East Valley area new middle school No. 2 East Valley new continuation high school Noble Avenue new elementary school No. 1 San Fernando Morningside Elementary School addition San Fernando Middle School addition San Pedro 15th Street Elementary School addition Barton Hill Elementary School addition Cabrillo Avenue Elementary School playground Leland Street Elementary School addition Silver Lake Belmont new primary center No. 1 Dayton Heights Elementary School playground Marshall new primary center No. 1 South Gate Bryson Avenue Elementary School addition San Gabriel Elementary School addition San Miguel Elementary School addition San Miguel Elementary School playground South Gate new elementary school No. 6 South Gate new elementary school No. 7 Southeast area new senior high No. 2 Southeast area new middle school No. 3 Southeast new continuation high school No. 1 Stanford Avenue new primary center State Street Elementary School addition South Los Angeles 24th Street Elementary School playground 68th Street Elementary School addition Fremont new primary center No. 2 Manual Arts new elementary school No. 1 Manual Arts new elementary school No. 3 Manual Arts new primary center No. 2 Menlo Avenue Elementary School playground Norwood Street Elementary School addition Washington new primary center No. 1 Weemes Elementary School playground Southeast L.A Accelerated charter school Ascot Avenue Elementary School addition Central L.A. area new middle school No. 4 Hooper Avenue new primary center Jefferson new continuation high school No. 1 Jefferson new elementary school No. 1 Jefferson new elementary school No. 2 Jefferson new elementary school No. 7 Jefferson new primary center No. 6 Johnson Opportunity Senior High addition Nevin Avenue Elementary School addition Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet South Central L.A. area new senior high No. 1 Sun Valley Camellia Avenue Elementary School addition East Valley area new senior high No. 1A Van Nuys Columbus new elementary school Sylvan Park Elementary School addition Venice Venice High addition Westlake 10th Street Elementary School playground Belmont Learning Center Belmont new primary center No. 11 Belmont new primary center No. 12 Belmont/Hollywood new primary center No. 3 Central L.A. area new senior high No. 10 Central L.A. area new middle school No. 1 Esperanza Elementary School addition Gratts new primary center Lafayette Park new primary school Otis new elementary school Rosemont Avenue Elementary School addition Wilmington Banning new elementary school No. 1 Fries Avenue Elementary School addition Normont Elementary School addition Wilmington Park Elementary School addition

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