LAUSD FUNDS AT RISK; DISTRICT WARNED ABOUT BUILDING ON TOXIC SITES.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

The LAUSD has been put on notice: Clean up toxic land at future school sites or lose state money to build the campuses, the Daily News has learned.

The Office of Public School Construction sent a warning letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District earlier this month stating that money for six toxic school sites - and any others found unsafe - will be withheld until the state is sure the land is clean.

``The OPSC is greatly concerned with the possibility that new schools may be inadvertently constructed on contaminated sites that render the school unsafe for student occupancy after the completion of construction,'' the Oct. 7 letter states.

The get-tough mandate, pushed by lawmakers and a legislative committee, comes in the wake of environmental problems found in the soil and water at Jefferson New Middle School in South Central Los Angeles.

Assemblyman Scott Wildman, D-Glendale, said it sends a clear directive to the LAUSD that the land must be toxic-free.

``We're not going to tolerate putting kids on contaminated land. It's simple. That's what the law says,'' Wildman said.

The LAUSD's outside environmental attorney, Barry Groveman, has stated previously that there is no law barring the district from building on toxic land as long as it can show that cleanup will occur - even after construction.

That was the case at Jefferson New Middle School, where carcinogens were identified in soil and water only after the campus was built. Health officials said students are safe to attend Jefferson as cleanup continues, but questions have been raised about the LAUSD's evaluation of its school sites.

On Thursday, Groveman did not return phone calls.

LAUSD spokesman Erik Nasarenko said he could not comment on the law. But he said the district has been in talks for more than a month with the California Environmental Protection Agency to work out a way to better certify the safety of its school sites.

``We met a month ago, even before the letter,'' Nasarenko said.

Wildman, however, wonders whether that is correct. He said the letter casts a new light on district protestations over the past few weeks that it was eager to revise its practices in light of problems at Jefferson.

``Apparently they were being pushed to do this by the OPSC in the first place,'' Wildman said.

The Daily News has reported that for years safeguards designed to ensure schools are not built on toxic land have not been effective.

At Jefferson New Middle School, for example, state and LAUSD officials ignored environmental warning signs and failed to call for intensive testing. Neither the district nor the state inspector sent to review Jefferson revealed its toxic problems, and a state funding board gave the LAUSD almost $12 million.

The recent disclosure that the system intended to cleanse the soil at Jefferson was malfunctioning prompted calls for investigation and changes in the law, even though health officials said students there are safe.

Lawmakers and community leaders have said the need to change the land selection process is more important than ever now that the LAUSD has launched a campaign to build 51 more schools over the next decade. Its unofficial policy has been to acquire industrial land in urban areas, which might have environmental problems, rather than condemn homeowners' property to build schools.

The state's Joint Legislative Audit Committee, chaired by Wildman, recently issued a report finding that not only was Jefferson's soil contaminated but that contamination problems also were found at eight other LAUSD prospective campus sites.

On Oct. 7, the Office of Public School Construction sent a warning letter to Beth Louargand, general manager of facilities, said Bruce Hancock, executive director of the State Allocation Board.

The state board provides funds for land and construction of new schools after approvals from the Office of Public School Construction.

The letter states that since the discovery of contaminants on the Jefferson site, there has been a focus on other problem land already approved by the California Department of Education.

Concerns were raised because the state's funding board depends solely on the California Department of Education to review sites and because it is responsible for ensuring that money is spent in a cost-effective manner, the letter states.

``The OPSC shall not release any further funds or recommend further SAB action . . . until certification that the sites are safe for student occupancy is received (from Cal/EPA).''

Further, the letter said that the state funding board assumes the land is clean and would not give money for cleanup.

Funds have been withheld for six schools, including the controversial Belmont Learning Complex. The most expensive high school in the country, the campus is being constructed on a large oil field in downtown Los Angeles. It is scheduled to open in July 2000.

Nasarenko was unable Thursday to provide how much money was being withheld.

Other sites are: Nevin Avenue Elementary School, Newell Street Elementary School, New Belmont elementary school 2, South Gate high school 3, South Gate elementary school 3 and Johnson High School.

At the New Belmont Elementary School site, the district is considering buying land for the construction of a primary center - a school for the youngest students.

The LAUSD is in the process of buying land for the South Gate high school and elementary school.