AUDITORIUM MAY BE FIXED; STATE BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING FOR REPAIR PROJECTS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

The Hart High School auditorium has been out of commission for four years, but its future could hinge on what happens in the next two weeks - namely whether Gov. Pete Wilson vetoes proposed repair funds.

In the California spending plan approved this week by the Legislature, $350,000 has been set aside for refurbishments to either the Newhall Elementary School auditorium or the Henry Mayo Newhall auditorium, the latter on the Hart High campus.

The state Assembly approved its version of the budget Tuesday, and the governor has 12 days from that point to sign the budget into law. In that time, Wilson is expected to use his line-item veto power to trim any expenditures he considers excessive from the $77 billion package.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, endorsed the auditorium funding in the state budget package. ``We're trying to make our arguments to the governor why this particular project should stay in,'' Runner said from Sacramento.

``There are dollars available for us to see local needs met,'' he added. ``If this were a tight time for the state, then we wouldn't have these dollars to put back into the community. This year, there was a priority given to deferred maintenance issues. That was one of those issues that was put off in the lean times.''

California has a $4.4 billion surplus this year because of the revived state economy. That's why the Legislature has found more money available for special projects that had been neglected during California's tough recession.

The Hart High facility has been closed since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Some renovations have been made, but the repairs can't be completed until sufficient funds have been raised for the scope of work, said Lew White, coordinator of facilities for the William S. Hart Union High School District.

District officials say the 900-seat auditorium's renovations could be complete by next spring. ``I hope we can have it open for performances in May,'' White said. ``The school board has said it would accept the responsibility of putting the auditorium back into its pre-earthquake condition.''

White said that $285,000 the district received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency hasn't been spent yet because it will cost more than that to make the quake repairs. The school district can't use those federal disaster assistance funds for anything else, he said.

About $322,000 in community donations raised by two groups, the Auditorium Angels and the Hart High School Foundation, are earmarked for installing an air conditioning system in the hall, White said.

An additional $466,000 in school district funds is expected to be used, in combination with the FEMA funds, to make repairs such as reupholstering the seats in the 46-year-old auditorium, installing new lighting, replastering the walls, painting, recarpeting and reconstructing the ceiling that fell in the quake.

With the help of a city grant, the district also has paid to make the hall handicapped accessible by widening doorways, renovating restrooms, adding a wheelchair lift and installing railings and ramps, White said.

Meanwhile, the Newhall Elementary auditorium has been closed for 20 years and currently is used by the Newhall School District to store supplies and equipment.

Officials have estimated it would cost $1.2 million to restore the Newhall Elementary auditorium - built in the 1940s - and bring it into compliance with city building codes.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (Color) The quake-damaged auditorium at Hart High School may be fixed with state money if the budget item is signed into law.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News