$3 Million Added to L.A. Schools’ Custodial Budget : Education: Board acts on complaints of parents, teachers and students about dirty restrooms. Funds to come from $13 million reserved for extras.

With little more that $13 million to spare for extras in its $4.5-billion budget, the Los Angeles Board of Education turned over more than 20% of those funds Monday for school custodial services.

The unanimous action comes a week after a survey of 81 schools showed that the top complaint among parents, teachers and students is dirty campus restrooms and overall poor school maintenance.

The $3 million will be allocated directly to schools, with each campus receiving $5 per student. A small elementary school of 400, for instance, will receive $2,000 while a large high school of 3,000 will receive $15,000. It is the single largest expenditure item among 14 new programs sharing in the $13.6-million surplus.

“I feel the cleanliness of our schools and the bathrooms must be a top priority,” said school board member Barbara Boudreaux.

As the district takes on major restructuring, the school board decided to invest $5.3 million in six programs geared toward training school staff, teachers and parents on school reform issues. This includes $1 million for the opening of the Parent Community Services Branch, which will serve as a liaison between parents and schools.

Also included is a $600,000 expenditure for teachers and staff at the district’s 88 LEARN reform schools to complete a management program being taught by UCLA education and business experts. Parents at LEARN schools also will receive companion training.

The new spending items represent the first time after five years of deep budget cutting that the school board has added programs to its budget. The budget was given final approval in August, but the decision on how the surplus money would be spent was delayed until Monday.

“In terms of money, at least we have a start,” said Supt. Sid Thompson, adding that the add-ons are modest in a system as huge as the Los Angeles school district.

In a last-minute amendment to the add-ons, the board narrowly rejected a $1-million spending plan to develop a leadership training course for central staff, the school board and administrators.

A four-vote majority of the school board agreed with board member Warren Furutani, who said the leadership training was “too nebulous.” Instead the money will be held in reserve to address school safety issues.

Also, board members on Monday expressed concern that enrollment in some San Fernando Valley schools may be significantly down because of the Northridge earthquake. When enrollment drops, teachers are typically transferred.

The reserve funds possibly could be used to prevent teacher transfers at quake-affected schools so that children will not have to suffer further disruption in their lives, several school board members suggested. A census of district enrollment will take place Oct. 14.

The rejection of the central staff training was a disappointment to Thompson, who had argued that such a program is needed so downtown bureaucrats understand the importance of the district’s decentralization movement, which gives more decision-making power to individual schools.

In another action, the board approved transferring $16.4 million to make good on a contract settlement with teachers. The money comes from savings in employee health benefits, school utilities and in two other accounts.