ZACARIAS BLOCKS VOTE ON FUNDING; BB PANEL DID NOT REVIEW PROPOSAL.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles schools Superintendent Ruben Zacarias yanked an item off the Board of Education's agenda Monday because it sought approval for $35.7 million in bond money for a new school - before review by a specially formed citizens oversight panel.

Zacarias said he was incredulous that the item had been set for consideration without any review, given public outrage in April over the board's intention to bypass the oversight panel for the $43.5 million Belmont Learning Complex.

Monday's agenda item involved the use of Proposition BB bond money for a proposed new elementary school in Bell.

``I ordered it taken off,'' Zacarias said. ``I feel strongly that projects funded with BB money must first be reviewed by the BB committee.''

Members of the Proposition BB Blue Ribbon Citizens Oversight Committee and others lauded Zacarias' action, while expressing outrage that the district had tried a second time to bypass the necessary review.

``It's a positive sign that the superintendent is going to take control of the district and is not going to proceed without considering public opinion,'' said Day Higuchi, president of the United Teachers-Los Angeles union, one of the groups that sued the district because they were not allowing the citizen's group to provide real oversight on BB funds.

``I'm glad Ruben stepped in - they saved themselves another lawsuit,'' Higuchi said. ``This wasn't just a hard-headed attempt by the district, this was all skull and no brain.''

Beth Louargand, general manager of the school district's facilities services division, placed the item on the agenda for board consideration before it had been reviewed by the citizens' panel.

Louargand said she asked for the board approval because the school had received funding approval from the State Allocation Board last week.

``We made it clear that escrow on the school would not be opened until after the oversight committee meeting,'' Louargand said.

Board of Education members said they too applauded Zacarias' decision to delay the vote.

``We were all asking about this, no one understood why this had to come to us before the blue ribbon committee,'' said board member David Tokofsky.

The BB committee is meeting July 17, and will consider whether to recommend bond money to fund Bell.

The district's failure to pass the Belmont project through the oversight panel prompted a judge to step in and order the review. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne lifted the injunction June 13 after the BB committee voted unanimously against using BB funds for the school.

``I don't know how many times we're going to have to say this - we aren't a hindsight committee,'' said an exasperated BB committee member Tim Lynch in an interview Monday. ``This should not have been put on the agenda before we considered it.''

David Barulich, BB committee members said he was pleased that Zacarias ``understands what voters expected,'' when they approved the $2.4 billion repair bond in April.