$3 MILLION MORE FOR BELMONT? ROMER AIMS TO UPDATE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT, FINISH ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Staff Writer

Los Angeles schools chief Roy Romer will ask the Board of Education today for $3 million to complete additional environmental studies and architectural renderings of the Belmont Learning Center.

Romer said he is calling for a supplemental environmental impact report that promises to reignite debate over the $175 million downtown high school, which earlier had been abandoned by the Los Angeles Unified School District board because of unresolved toxics problems.

Months ago, the superintendent had suggested an addendum to update the original EIR. Now he says a supplement would more effectively disseminate new environmental data and other information collected since the original EIR was completed in 1996.

``In the abundance of caution, we want to do a thorough review,'' Romer said. ``We wanted to avoid any arguments or legal challenges and tell the entire community that we are proceeding with absolute caution and taking conservative steps on Belmont to be sure we do everything to make it entirely safe.''

Specifically, the supplement will review the environmental impact of a proposed protective membrane and gas extraction system at the former oil field to capture potentially explosive gases and toxic hydrogen sulfide leaching from old oil wells beneath the site.

Part of the $3 million will pay for design of the mitigation system and to complete 8-year-old architectural renderings of the buildings.

Romer convinced the majority of the board in March to resurrect plans for the school. At that time, he intended for a simple addendum to update the original EIR and promised to bring a contract back by summer with the Alliance for a Better Community - the winning bidder of three who submitted ideas to mitigate and complete the campus.

But the decision to proceed with a supplemental EIR - which will take at least six more months to complete - will mean the district won't be able to sign a contract with the Alliance until at least December.

The supplement signifies the first delay since the board voted 6-1 in March to resurrect plans for the school, which has cost more than $175 million so far and has proceeded on a construction schedule moving at a glacial pace because of environmental concerns.

Angelo Bellomo, director of the district's environmental health and safety branch, said district lawyers had indicated that an addendum would be satisfactory, but the environmental staff concluded that a supplement would be more thorough.

``There's been a lot of information that's become available following the certification of the original EIR and I didn't believe an addendum was appropriate,'' Bellomo said. ``We have opted against the addendum and decided to do a supplement to the original EIR. I do think the supplement is appropriate.''

San Fernando Valley school board member Julie Korenstein, the only board member to continue opposing the project because of safety concerns, said she would prefer an entirely new EIR on the site.

``It appears the school will be built. We have an overwhelming majority of the school board in favor of it,'' Korenstein said. ``But the district had better be darn sure that they know everything about that mitigation system and that they make it safe for the children and staff.''