Schools Say Shift Funds to Quake Repair : Education: The $30 million is presently earmarked for five new academy campuses. Replacing the money would require a bond.

By BETH SHUSTER

June 23, 1994 12 AM PT

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

In an effort to break what they see as a stalemate between the state and federal governments, Los Angeles school officials are asking the state to shift $30 million earmarked for five special high schools to be used instead for fixing earthquake-damaged campuses.

If the Los Angeles Unified School District’s request is granted, money for the five new academy schools would be eliminated and could be replaced only by passage of a school construction bond measure in November. But district officials said they were not yet prepared to submit plans for the academy schools and that the $30 million could help spur the Federal Emergency Management Agency into funding the district’s repairs.

“Although these programs are very valuable and innovative and great for kids, they’re down the road a piece and here we are with a crisis,” said Bill Rivera, the district’s spokesman.

“It seems sensible to use the $30 million to unclog the pipeline to repair the buildings and classrooms that are sitting here unusable. We are willing to take a gamble that we will get the money back when we are closer to completion on these projects.”

The $30 million would be used to pay the state’s share of the district’s earthquake repairs, which could top $300 million, officials said.

FEMA officials deny that repair projects are being stalled. Further, they say release of the $30 million won’t affect the speed by which money or projects are approved for the schools.

“I think they’re mutually exclusive,” said Morrie Goodman, the FEMA spokesman in Washington, D.C. “The $30 million just has nothing to do with the release of (federal) money.”

School district officials, however, say they were led to believe that their big-ticket repair projects were not being approved because FEMA was still negotiating with the state over its share of the earthquake costs. FEMA is paying 90% of the repair costs, and discussions are under way over how much the state and local agencies will have to contribute.

The debate at the state level was made more contentious by the failure of a bond measure earlier this month that would have allocated money for both school construction and earthquake repairs.

The decision over whether the $30 million can be used for earthquake repairs probably will be made at a State Allocation Board meeting on July 6. Oscar Wright, the executive director of the Office of Local Assistance in Sacramento, said he will make a recommendation to the board.

But Wright said he still must determine whether the money--earmarked for the academy schools--can be used to help Los Angeles school district pay for campus repairs.

Additionally, the $30 million that was allocated to the district in May, 1993, had a one-year deadline that expires at the end of this month. The money will be turned over to the State Allocation Board and other school districts requesting academy projects could apply for it.

“It’s unfortunate that nothing’s occurred up to this point (on the academy projects)--it’s a worthy concept,” Wright said. “I’m hoping that at sometime in the future, L.A. would step up to the batter’s box.”

The so-called Career Development Partnership Academy Project, which was highly touted by the district when first proposed, was designed for students interested in careers in medicine and science, business and entertainment. The schools, to be located in Van Nuys, Hollywood, Downtown, Compton and Southeast Los Angeles, are designed as partnerships among the district, city, state and private developers.

Students at the Van Nuys Medical Academy, for example, would work and take courses at Valley Presbyterian Hospital, which is adjacent to property the district owns.

Dom Shambra, the district’s director of planning and development who oversees the academy projects, said he could not get the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to commit to two of the academy projects and that the earthquake stalled the district’s efforts.

“It was a little more difficult to put together than we expected,” Shambra said. “It was moving along but because of circumstances we couldn’t control . . . an earthquake . . . it was a matter of choice. Do we keep a program and fight to hold onto the money or do we use the money for earthquake repairs?”

But district officials acknowledged that they are gambling on the money being replaced by the passage of a bond measure in November.

Shambra said he had intended to ask the State Allocation Board for a three-month extension for the academy schools but then decided the earthquake repairs took priority. “We just thought we needed to jump-start the FEMA projects,” he said.

Supt. Sid Thompson, who made the request for the $30 million reallocation in a letter to Wright, also sent a letter to FEMA Director James Witt explaining the rationale for the shift in state funds.

“Should my funding request to the state be approved--and I see no reason why it can’t since it is our money--I would hope that in the next few days FEMA would be able to announce approval of a number of major school reconstruction projects,” Thompson said in his letter. “People don’t see anything happening to repair of buildings. Damaged structures remain standing, stark reminders of the tragedy, surrounded by chain link fences and yellow tape.

“Similar scenes in school after school underscore the lack of action,” Thompson said.

The district has received about $70 million from FEMA and has spent $17 million on building repairs, safety and structural inspections and the replacement of lost or damaged textbooks, supplies and equipment.

More money has not been spent on campus repairs because the plans for those projects have not been approved by FEMA, district officials said.

About 160 campuses sustained damage from the Jan. 17 earthquake, ranging from fallen ceiling tiles and cracked walls to the complete relocation of a Granada Hills elementary school.

Because of the extent of the damage, the district has created 40 positions to help manage the recovery efforts--including maintenance managers, secretaries, architects and designers. The district is hiring outside contractors for most of the design and repair work; more than 100 architectural firms will be used.

While district officials had hoped to use the summer vacation at most campuses to make the repairs, they say that timeline could be delayed if the money and plan approvals are slow.

“Our goal--depending on the receipt and availability of funding--is to have these repairs under way or started by Jan. 17, 1995,” said Doug Brown, the district’s facilities director. “But we already know some won’t make that.”

* SCHOOL TO BE RAZED: Quake-ravaged Van Gogh Elementary School in Granada Hills will be demolished. B6

Waiting for Repair The following damaged Los Angeles Unified School District campuses are listed in order of repair priority. Columbus, for example, would be the district’s first priority with Haddon Elementary the last. The ultimate decisions on which schools are repaired first, however, will be made whenever funding becomes available. Of the 41 schools listed, 37 are located in the San Fernando Valley

Columbus Middle School--Gymnasium closed

Monroe High School--Gymnasium closed

San Fernando High--Badly damaged classrooms and auditorium closed

Roscomare Elementary--Two classrooms closed and possible geological problems

El Camino High--Gymnasium closed

Kennedy High--Classrooms closed

Tarzana Elementary--Badly damaged classrooms

Mayall Elementary--Closed classrooms

San Fernando Middle--13 classrooms closed

Encino Elementary--Classrooms closed

Northridge Middle--Multipurpose room and auditorium closed, and badly damaged arcades

Marvin Elementary--Closed classrooms