BELMONT GAG ORDER; CONSTRUCTION GOES FORWARD AS BOARD OKS PANEL, BANS TALK FATE.Byline: Greg Gittrich Staff Writer After a six-hour closed meeting, the 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. board voted Tuesday to buy more time to decide the fate of the controversial Belmont Learning Center This Belmont Learning Center contains information about a building currently under construction. It may contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as construction progresses and new information becomes available. and imposed a gag order A court order to gag or bind an unruly defendant or remove her or him from the courtroom in order to prevent further interruptions in a trial. In a trial with a great deal of notoriety, a court order directed to attorneys and witnesses not to discuss the case with the media—such on public discussion by school officials. Allowing construction of the $200 million project to move forward, the board unanimously supported creating a five-member advisory commission to recommend by Oct. 15 whether the nation's costliest high school can be completed and operated safely. The board - widely expected to temporarily halt construction - emerged from its long huddle with lawyers to release a four-page report summarizing the steps to be taken in the coming months. After two hours of public comment, board members spoke briefly and then voted on their strategy for dealing with serious environmental and legal problems involving Belmont. They then agreed to a blanket gag order on comments by district officials and board members to ``ensure the integrity'' of the commission's work. When the meeting adjourned, school board President Genethia Hayes approached about 20 reporters and offered to clarify her prepared statement but deflected de·flect intr. & tr.v. de·flect·ed, de·flect·ing, de·flects To turn aside or cause to turn aside; bend or deviate. [Latin d most questions other than specifying that construction was not being stopped. She cut off questions after about five minutes. Reporters asked board member David Tokofsky, who was lingering in the room, if he would comment. He shook his head, and Hayes answered for him. ``No, he cannot,'' she said. During the meeting, Hayes read from a prepared statement that board members agreed would be the last official word on Belmont for nearly three months. The advisory commission will enable the board to ``make a decision based upon solid, clear facts,'' she said. ``In taking these actions, we have been guided by the following principles: fiscal responsibility; making an informed decision based upon an objective fact; recognizing the need for schools in the community, and above all, ensuring the safety of children and adults,'' the statement read. Plan's directives The board's plan calls for the district to spend $2.2 million to weatherproof the site; directed the superintendent to appoint a full-time project director for Belmont from outside of district ranks; agreed to provide funding for the new panel of experts, and authorized the new project director to retain an outside consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a for approximately $100,000 to complete a feasibility study "A Feasibility Study" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 April, 1964, during the first season. It was remade in 1997 as part of the revived The Outer Limits series with a minor title change. for completing the project. All district correspondence and confidential reports on Belmont leading up to the meeting, as well as the meeting's agenda, indicated the board was going to consider a report to suspend construction on the 35-acre downtown site. The district's teachers union also issued a statement to the board backing a work stoppage stoppage - /sto'p*j/ Extreme lossage that renders something (usually something vital) completely unusable. "The recent system stoppage was caused by a fried transformer." . The approved report, which was distributed to the media before anyone from the public spoke on the matter, makes no mention of halting construction, other than an oblique reference in an amendment proposed by Tokofsky. The Tokofsky amendment states that if a ``precise and detailed suspension agreement is not consummate by Aug. 15, 1999, the Board of Education may direct the superintendent to terminate the project.'' The amendment passed by a 5-2 vote, with Hayes and Victoria Castro, Belmont's biggest advocate, dissenting. Declining comment Hayes, who previously said district officials were negotiating with Belmont's developers to temporarily halt construction, refused to comment on the status of the talks. Other board members also declined comment, following their own gag order. Erik Nasarenko, a district spokesman, said Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive David Koch There are several people called David Koch:
Superintendent Ruben Zacarias disputed any gag order existed, but vowed to ``honor the intent of the board president and not do anything that would influence the work of the new commission.'' The commission will consist of five members, appointed by the school board, with expertise in the areas of law, environment, public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. and health. One member will come from the public. Board members Julie Korenstein and Valerie Fields expressed concern with the board's plan, but agreed to support the policy on the advice of Richard K. Mason, the district's general counsel. ``I know I would not work there and permit my grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. to go to school at that site,'' Fields said before voting. The board majority asserted the move would bring an end to all the ``scare tactics'' and remove emotion and politics from the process leading to a rational decision about explosive methane and other contaminants that pervade per·vade tr.v. per·vad·ed, per·vad·ing, per·vades To be present throughout; permeate. See Synonyms at charge. [Latin perv the site. ``We have to be very clear, or I must be very clear, that if I vote to continue this project that I'm sure the youngsters are safe,'' Hayes said. Bitter factions While the ultimate fate of Belmont remains undecided, the district is being torn into bitter factions with the LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) School Safety Team lionized by some as the last line of defense for children's safety and demonized by others as a symbol of environmental hysteria fed by political machinations and money. Key players on both sides showed up Tuesday to address the board, packing the meeting hall to capacity alongside students and parents from the predominantly low-income Latino community around Belmont who urged completing the school. Dominic Shambra, the LAUSD's retired director of building and operations who masterminded Belmont, defended completing the project. ``You are now surrounded by environmental hysteria created unfortunately by the district's own consultants,'' he said. ``Recent reports indicate you are now being asked to spend another million dollars to verify what you have already verified. The recent report clearly validates that the (environmental) conditions could be mitigated.'' Dr. Kaye Kilburn, a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , said hydrogen sulfide hydrogen sulfide, chemical compound, H2S, a colorless, extremely poisonous gas that has a very disagreeable odor, much like that of rotten eggs. It is slightly soluble in water and is soluble in carbon disulfide. at the site, even in low levels, could lead to brain damage. ``There isn't a question here of safety. There is no way to make this place safe. It is a question of do we protect the children,'' Kilburn said. ``The risks are clear and outright . . . putting children into this school under these conditions is tantamount tan·ta·mount adj. Equivalent in effect or value: a request tantamount to a demand. [From obsolete tantamount, an equivalent, from Anglo-Norman to outright recklessness.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: School board President Genethia Hayes listens to public comments Tuesday. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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