State to Audit How LAUSD Picks School Sites
In response to pressure from local legislators, a state committee agreed Tuesday to audit the way the Los Angeles Unified School District selects school sites.
The audit, to be conducted by the state auditor and costing $100,000, should be completed by early fall, according to Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that approved the audit.
Specifically, the audit will determine whether the LAUSD follows proper procedures in picking sites, and whether these procedures are acceptable. This includes how sites are surveyed, evaluated, deliberated and approved. It will also include an assessment of the state agencies involved in the site acquisition process.
The school site selection process came under fire after the LAUSD sent several projects to Sacramento without consulting the community.
State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) allege in a May 24 letter to Wildman that “significant resources and time were wasted rectifying problems that could have been avoided if a standard procedure were in place.â€
The request by Alarcon and Cardenas, both of whom are northeast Valley residents, followed two incidents in which the district failed to inform the public that it was considering sites in Arleta and Panorama City for new schools--a violation of the district’s own policies.
Arleta residents ended up opposing construction of a new high school at a former Gemco department store site after learning belatedly that it was the district’s preferred site, forcing school officials to consider other locations.
The issue of how school sites are chosen is significant because LAUSD--which is already the largest school district in California with 800,000 students--predicts it will need to build at least 100 new schools to meet current demands from increased enrollment.
“There are indications that there are significant problems within the site selection process,†Wildman said. “L.A. Unified is unique. It’s such a large school district. They are the trendsetters. We’ve got to make sure they are doing it right.â€
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