MTA, LAUSD RAIL ABOUT SCHOOL ALONG GOLD LINE.

Byline: - Lisa Mascaro

The debate between the MTA and Los Angeles Unified over rebuilding a high school in the path of the Metro Gold Line eastside extension intensified Thursday despite efforts to forge a resolution.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority refuses to build a new school that could cost as much as $40 million to replace parts of Ramona Opportunity High School - a campus for teen moms - needed for the train. It says it's responsible for only partial improvements, not the whole campus.

``We are not paying for this school,'' MTA board member Gloria Molina, also a county supervisor, said during the meeting. ``Our choo-choo is going to go through one building. We said we would rebuild that building.''

But Guy Mehula, the Los Angeles Unified School District's deputy facilities chief, said the MTA already agreed to create a new campus - even providing the district with $2 million to design the new layout.

The two sides have been trying to work out a deal while the MTA has also been proceeding with plans to change the route to go around the school. But since construction is already under way, new plans need to be finalized to avoid a construction shutdown of $2 million a month.