CITY BOWL PATROL READY TO DIVE INTO LAUSD RESTROOMS.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

After months of squabbling, school and municipal officials hope to finalize a plan this week to let city inspectors check campus bathrooms, which many students complain are too filthy to use.

The inspections, supported by two new state laws that put added pressure on school districts to tidy up toilets, are expected to begin this month in at least five schools, officials said.

``We're very close to a resolution,'' said Matt Szabo, a spokesman for City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. ``We are going to continue to meet this coming week and expect to announce the details of the inspections shortly.''

Restroom cleanliness grabbed the attention of state and local leaders last year after a high-profile media disclosure of filth in school restrooms in Southern California.

While Los Angeles Unified School District officials stepped up maintenance efforts, Delgadillo's office was still flooded by complaints, prompting him to push hard for city inspectors to make surprise visits on campuses.

Officials of LAUSD, which spends more than $30 million a year to clean and repair restrooms, opposed the plan, saying district personnel should care for and inspect school facilities. Eventually, in December, Mayor James Hahn stepped in to order city health and safety inspectors to look at schools, and LAUSD officials said they would cooperate.

Delgadillo and his staff applauded the new state laws that they say complement city officials' efforts to work with their LAUSD counterparts to get the restrooms cleaned up.

Senate Bill 892, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, requires school districts to clean up and stock restrooms with toilet paper, towels and soap. Districts that do not resolve and report back on legitimate complaints within 90 days could lose some state maintenance funding - money typically used to repair or modernize roofing, plumbing and air conditioning.

For Los Angeles Unified, that could mean losses up to $25 million, based on 2001-02 figures, according to the Office of Public School Construction.

The other law, Assembly Bill 1124, sponsored by Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, requires schools officials to make sure restrooms meet local health standards as a priority for use of state maintenance funds.

LAUSD officials say they will be able to comply with the laws.

``Most of the legislation that comes down the pike is stuff we're already on top of,'' said Glenn Gritzner, special assistant to LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer. ``We feel like we're in pretty good shape.''

The city inspections will target restrooms and are also expected to include cafeterias, water quality and earthquake preparedness.

Still up for debate are whether the visits will be scheduled or by surprise, how many schools will be inspected and what type of health and safety standards must be met.

While school officials say they are cooperating, some still regard city officials' involvement as intrusive political opportunism.

Gritzner said some city leaders have just been taking cheap shots at district personnel to win points with the voters. Tom Newbery, chief negotiator for Service Employees International Union, Local 99, which represents the custodians, concurred.

``If you want to get a gold star politically, tell people you want clean bathrooms,'' he said. ``The bathrooms have probably gotten more attention than the reading scores.''

Still, concerns about restroom cleanliness rank high among students. In a national study last year by the Pew Charitable Trust and Providence College, high school students said they were more worried about restrooms than parking, alcohol and drugs, or dress codes.

Locally, students and parents have complained about restrooms to the school board and City Council.

On Tuesday, the school board will consider a motion by member Marlene Canter asking the superintendent to provide regular reports on the conditions of school cafeterias and restrooms. It also asks the superintendent to find ways to involve parent volunteers in inspections.

School board member David Tokofsky said he was pleased that the city attorney and school superintendent were working more cooperatively to tackle the issue than ever before.

``If Delgadillo and Romer have made peace over the toilets, at least we know its nobody's Waterloo,'' Tokofsky quipped.

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Custodian Johnny Garcia scrubs a row of urinals in a San Fernando school restroom.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer