BOARD VOTES TO FIX UP CENTER APPROVAL NEEDED FROM NEIGHBORS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale School District wants to spruce up the outside of its embattled Pueblo Learning Center, an empty drugstore that the district bought for $3.1 million but has yet to open.

District officials want to finish nearly $25,000 worth of improvements that were never completed because of lawsuits filed by neighboring property owners against the project.

``We don't want it to look like an abandoned building, which it does,'' Superintendent Nancy Smith said. ``We want to fix it so it's ready to use and something to be proud of in the community.''

The work will include putting in new front doors, fire doors, carpet tack strips, a bicycle rack, crosswalks, and an alarm system, which will allow the district to discontinue round-the-clock security for the property that cost the district $21,000.

Parts of the building are boarded up where workers removed glass to move things in and out, Smith said.

The district is trying to negotiate a settlement with neighboring property owners so it can open the center, which is located in the former Payless store at 47th Street East and Avenue S.

Some board members and parents have criticized the project as being too costly. To date, the district has spent nearly $3.6 million on the center.

The board voted 3-2 at Tuesday's meeting to approve an agreement in which the district will be allowed to complete the exterior improvements with the promise not to use the building until a settlement is reached.

The other property owners still need to approve this agreement, Smith said.

``We would like to not have a 24-hour guard and still have it secured. Once we reach a settlement, we want to get the children in as soon as possible,'' Smith said.

The dissenting votes were cast by trustees Sheldon Epstein and Fred Thompson. Thompson has stated he thinks the project is a waste of money and should be abandoned.

Epstein said no cost estimate was given on the improvements. ``I can't act on an item without any price. Why would I put money into something that hasn't been concluded?'' Epstein said in reference to ongoing settlement negotiations.

The district plans to operate the center as a school for fifth- through eighth-grade students who perform poorly on standard state exams or are otherwise in danger of flunking.

District officials originally planned to use the store for a Head Start preschool, but those plans were derailed when neighboring tenants filed lawsuits in 1998 against the project and a judge ruled the environmental process was faulty.

The project has been criticized for its expense, most recently by some parents who opposed the district's change from a five-track, year-round school schedule to a three-track system to house more students.

The project also is mentioned in the list of accusations in a recall campaign launched last week against board President Larry Logsdon.

The 32,000-square-foot building has 10 classrooms, two large conference rooms, one computer lab and a parent activity room.