BELMONT PALL COVERS L.A.; PUBLIC WON'T TRUST SCHOOL SYSTEM UNLESS ISSUES QUICKLY RESOLVED.

Byline: James K. Hahn

THE controversy over the Belmont Learning Center is an albatross that hangs heavily around the neck of the Los Angeles Unified School District School Board, and until it is removed it will be nearly impossible for the LAUSD to move forward on other issues. To put this matter behind them, the school board members need to address two issues: Can the environmental issues be solved to ensure that the school is safe? Was there criminal wrongdoing in the process that brought us to this point?

First, can the current school site be made safe and at what cost? If you asked me today whether I would send my two children to Belmont, the answer would be no. But I, like all others, do not know all the facts.

The voters of this city elected a majority of the board to reform the system, and the public frustration that led to this change was based in great part on the Belmont fiasco. The voters have an expectation that this new board will deal with this problem. The board has chosen to empanel a commission to make recommendations on whether to proceed with Belmont at the current site or close it down. The board has set a deadline for recommendations of 60 days.

Who will sit on the commission is critical to the fate of the project. It must consist of members who have impeccable credentials, no personal or political agenda and one interest in mind: the safety of the children who would attend this school.

As this project has stumbled forward, the credibility of the board and LAUSD has been severely damaged. Even a declaration by the new commission that the site is safe could reasonably be greeted with skepticism since the district has been saying it's safe all along.

But with a new majority and a blue ribbon panel to review the situation, the board has created a window of opportunity to make an informed decision on the project and resuscitate its credibility with the public.

I intend to give the board the benefit of the doubt, and I'll wait to see what the commission recommends before I make up my mind. I urge others to do the same. But one thing must be clear: Unless there is a 100 percent guarantee of safety at the current site, the Belmont Learning Center must be shut down, and the LAUSD must immediately move to identify new school sites.

Downtown residents have waited too long for a new school. Schools in the downtown area average nearly three times as many students as schools elsewhere, and students regularly spend 90 minutes being bused to schools in other parts of the city. They have been asked to wait an additional 60 days to hear the future of Belmont. They should not have to wait any longer. If, at the end of this 60 days, the decision is to close the school, the board should set a deadline just as tight to identify new school sites to accommodate the students who would otherwise have attended Belmont.

The second question of whether wrongdoing occurred must also be addressed. More than $126 million has already been spent at the Belmont site, and millions more will be if the project is completed. These are public dollars, and they must be accounted for, and if there was corruption involved in how the money was spent, the crimes must be exposed.

To that end, a grand jury must be empaneled to find out the facts. Until all the facts are revealed on how millions of dollars were spent on a building that may never be completed, the LAUSD will not regain the public trust. The facts must be laid bare and wrongdoers held accountable.

Even if a grand jury finds no corruption, the findings will at least provide us the information necessary to prevent such occurrences in the future. It should be a goal of the board to use information uncovered by a grand jury to develop a strict protocol for evaluating all future school sites for environmental hazards. If anything good can come of the Belmont issue, it should be a lesson on how to avoid another Belmont in the future.

We must not lose sight of the fact that the real losers in this deal are the students who have to go to school in overcrowded classes or be bused to a school across town. It's simply not fair. All parents of this city should have the opportunity to send their child to a safe school in their own neighborhood. Every child deserves that opportunity, too.

The Belmont matter must be brought to closure. Either open a school that is 100 percent safe or shut it down and move on. The board has taken its first step in that direction. Let's just hope it's the decisive one.

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PHOTO More than $126 million already has been spent on the Belmont Learning Center that may be doomed before the downtown high school ever opens.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer