BACKDOWN; LAUSD WON'T BUILD 'TAJ MAHAL HIGH' WITH PROP. BB FUNDS.Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer Stung by an onslaught of criticism, Los Angeles school The Los Angeles School of Urbanism is an academic movement emerged during the mid-1980s, loosely based at the University of Southern California and UCLA, that poses a challenge to the dominant Chicago School of Urbanism. officials backed away Wednesday from plans to use newly approved bond money to pay for a downtown high school and agreed to meet with the citizens oversight committee to discuss its watchdog role. Board of Education President Jeff Horton Jeff Horton, born (date?) in Arlington, Texas, is currently an assistant coach (Special Assistant/Offense) for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He has also been active as an assistant coach at the collegiate level (Minnesota, Nevada, UNLV, Wisconsin) and as a said he would push to pay for the Belmont Learning Complex by borrowing the money through participation notes that can be paid back through the district's general fund. ``It's clear we need to step back and rethink this,'' Horton said. ``We would hate to lose the support of the community for the projects this bond is going for.'' Plans to use the $2.4 billion school repair bond issue to fund at least $43.5 million of the cost of a project criticized as the ``Taj taj n. A tall conical cap worn by Muslims as a headdress of distinction. [Arabic t Mahal'' of public schools exploded into a firestorm fire·storm n. 1. A fire of great size and intensity that generates and is fed by strong inrushing winds from all sides: the firestorm that leveled Hiroshima after the atomic blast. 2. of controversy Wednesday. Criticism was focused on the fact that school officials never discussed new school construction in seeking support for the bond issue, Proposition BB, and because they had promised that a ``Blue Ribbon blue ribbon denotes highest honor. [Western Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 127] See : Prize Oversight Committee'' would closely monitor all bond money spending. Responding to the criticism, Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. said he phoned Horton on Wednesday because he was concerned with district plans, and was assured that alternate funding would be found. ``I'm against using bond money to fund Belmont,'' Riordan said. ``Clearly, it's unwise, a week after the election, to spend this large amount of money on this school. Their plans should have been explained to voters if that was their intention. ``But it wasn't spelled out to me, it wasn't spelled out to the voters,'' he added. Richard Katz, the former Valley assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. who led the bond campaign, called Horton's plan ``the right thing to do.'' ``They recognized (that) people who voted for BB had one thought in mind and that didn't include Belmont,'' Katz said. Horton and Superintendent of Schools Sid Thompson scheduled a morning news conference at L.A. Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. headquarters downtown to discuss the district's new plan. Phone lines jammed On Wednesday, furious citizens jammed phone lines at the district, and several officials said they were inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. with complaints from taxpayers. Parks Commission President Steve Soboroff Steve Soboroff (born August 31, 1948) is a real estate developer and president of Playa Vista. Mr. Soboroff is the Chairperson of the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. , a member of the bond oversight committee, said he got his fair share of calls as well. ``People want to know, `What's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. ?' '' Soboroff said. Members of the citizens oversight committee conferred Wednesday, and vowed to make their voice heard. ``The committee members are ticked off,'' said Joel Fox, who represents the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association helped sponsor Proposition 13, the property tax-cutting initiative in California in 1978 which slashed property taxes by fifty-seven percent and initiated a national tax revolt. It was founded by California republican Howard Jarvis. and agreed to join the oversight committee without endorsing the bond issue. ``We believe the oversight committee should be allowed to oversee the bond money.'' Fox warned that disgruntled dis·grun·tle tr.v. dis·grun·tled, dis·grun·tling, dis·grun·tles To make discontented. [dis- + gruntle, to grumble (from Middle English gruntelen; see voters have the right to pursue a state initiative that would cancel any portion of the bond that had not been sold. Committee members received information on Belmont on Wednesday, and were invited to a briefing scheduled for Friday. Fox and Soboroff said they intend to push for a delay in the district's Belmont vote Monday - although board members have said putting the matter off would jeopardize the project. ``I don't buy that,'' said Soboroff, who represents the Mayor's Office on the committee. Soboroff said if the project is solid, it will withstand additional scrutiny by the citizens committee. ``What do they have to be afraid of?'' Soboroff said of the district's reluctance to allow committee input. ``They're trying to turn us into a hindsight committee with no teeth, fangs or power. That's not what the voter's wanted.'' School board member David Tokofsky supported the oversight committee's push for `recognition. ``It ought to be a substantive group, not some hollow, meaningless veneer of credibility,'' Tokofsky said. ``I think a vote delay is fine, we should give the group time and resources to penetrate the project.'' At least one board member remained convinced that the oversight committee had no business second-guessing trustees. ``It's not right that a new group of people should come in and decide whether we approve Belmont,'' said school board member Mark Slavkin. ``That's not their role, that's why we have a school board.'' Slavkin said he welcomes the group's input after votes are cast. Soboroff counters that the citizens group is not seeking to usurp u·surp v. u·surped, u·surp·ing, u·surps v.tr. 1. To seize and hold (the power or rights of another, for example) by force and without legal authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. the board, but that taxpayers clearly wanted the group to have input before major decisions are made. The project was OK'd by another citizens group charged with reviewing the Belmont complex. Credibility an issue As taxpayers made their displeasure of the district's actions known, bond campaign workers struggled to salvage credibility. ``People instrumental in helping us pass Proposition BB were asking why our plans for new construction were not as prominent as for repairs,'' said Erik Nasarenko, campaign manager for Angelenos for Better Classrooms. ``I had to tell them that we had no knowledge about how the money for new schools would be spent, that there were details we were not privy to.'' The Belmont Learning Complex, envisioned as a private-public partnership with a commercial retail strip and clusters of housing units, has been a source of controversy since negotiations began with developer Kajima Corp. two years ago. Many have objected to the project's hefty price tag, including $61 million for the land and $87 million for the campus alone. The site is located west of the Harbor Freeway and Hollywood Freeway interchange along 1st Street and Beaudry Avenue. State Sen. Richard Polanco Richard G. Polanco, is a former California State Senate Majority leader and member of the California State Assembly. He is known for his significant efforts in increasing Latino representation in the California Legislature. , D-Los Angeles, who has opposed the project in the past, said in a written statement that Propositio`n BB did not stand for ``Belmont boondoggle boon·dog·gle Informal n. 1. An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity. 2. a. A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts. b. .'' ``The district sells the voters a bond by promising the money would be spent on repairing our dilapidated schools, and instead their first action is to use millions to bail out the highly controversial Belmont project,'' Polanco said. Tokofsky has charged that other school officials kept their plans to fund Belmont quiet until after the election - a charge that Horton has denied. But even Ruben Zacarias, deputy superintendent Deputy Superintendent, or Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was a rank used by police forces of the British Empire. In some territories it was called Deputy District Superintendent of Police (DDSP). , said he didn't know about the plans to fund Belmont. At a news conference Wednesday for Zacarias to talk about his bid to become superintendent, the candidate expressed no opinion on Belmont financing, but said the school was ``sorely needed'' to help overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. . However, he said he understood public fury about district plans to fund the luxury high school with bond money. ``I understand that people feel they were uninformed. If that perception exists, then I feel we need to communicate with the public.'' The swirling controversy this week caused activists looking to break up the mammoth school district to seize the momentum and rally the troops. ``I've been swamped with calls, people are irate i·rate adj. 1. Extremely angry; enraged. See Synonyms at angry. 2. Characterized or occasioned by anger: an irate phone call. ,'' said Paula Boland, the former assemblywoman who is leading a movement to break the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. away from the LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) . ``People feel that they've been deceived again.'' Boland is considering filing an injunction against the district to stop any expenditure of bond funds. ``We need to get a clear picture of what the bond measure actually meant; advertising was strictly for repairs,'' Boland said. Boland's San Fernando Valley breakup breakup The division of a company into separate parts. The most famous breakup to date was the 1984 division of AT&T (formerly, American Telephone & Telegraph Company). This breakup was intended to increase competition in the communications industry. group will ask the secretary of state not to certify the April 8 election until the matter is investigated. Even if the board decides not to use bond funds for Belmont, Boland said she ``won't take the pressure off.'' ``I don't trust them,'' she said. BELMONT LEARNING COMPLEX Here's a look-in-brief at the controversial proposal: What`: A 5,300-student, year-round high school, with up to 60,000 square feet of retail shops, and 120 rental units. Backers: L.A. Unified School District and Temple-Beaudry Partners. Builder: Temple-Beaudry Partners, headed up by construction giant Kajima International, and The Related Companies, a development company. School specifics: Four buildings housing nine departments; sports fields and basketball courts, gyms, pool. Cost: Maximum $87 million for school; $5 million to $8 million for stores; and $17 million for housing. Amount from Proposition BB: Maximum $44 million. Size: 35 acres Location: Downtown L.A., west of the Harbor and Hollywood freeways interchange along First Street and Beaudry Avenue. Opening date: Fall 1999. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, 3 boxes, drawing PHOTO (1) Richard Riordan (2) Paula Boland (3) Jeff Horton (4) Richard Katz BOX: (1) BELMONT LEARNING COMPLEX (see text) (2) What you voted on (3) What they're saying Drawing: Belmont Learning Complex |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion