State to Speed Up School Repairs

In response to concerns that school repairs authorized by Los Angeles voters last month were being delayed by red tape, state officials Wednesday pledged to speed up installation of air-conditioning and other improvements at campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District and in school systems across California.

Some Los Angeles schools could get air-conditioning as soon as this summer, far ahead of schedule, under the new agreements, one top state official said.

“We’re going to focus with laser attention on helping LAUSD . . . but we will be applying this statewide,” said Joanne Kozberg, the head of the State and Consumer Services Agency.

The promised changes came after a day of meetings involving Los Angeles district officials, legislators and members of Gov. Pete Wilson’s Cabinet over repairs funded by Proposition BB, the $2.4-billion bond measure approved by voters last month.

“It was an extremely successful day from our point of view,” Los Angeles Board of Education President Jeff Horton said upon his return from Sacramento. “It could cut a year off the timeline for projects.”

Horton, board member Julie Korenstein, city schools Supt. Sid Thompson and teachers union President Day Higuchi will hold a news conference this morning to announce the results of their trip to the Capitol.

Members of the Los Angeles delegation said they secured several pledges of help from state officials.

Assembly Majority Leader Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) said he will introduce legislation by the end of the week seeking changes in the state law that requires school districts to get state approval of architectural designs for construction projects that cost more than $20,000. Villaraigosa wants to increase the limit to $100,000.

Under the current system, it can take up to a year for the school district to get construction plans approved by the Division of the State Architect.

In addition, Villaraigosa’s legislation will seek to alter state codes to allow school districts to “pre-qualify” contractors to meet state regulations for one-year periods--rather than qualifying them anew for individual projects.

Villaraigosa said he will try to attach his legislation to an existing bill to speed up the approval process. He said his proposed changes could apply to school districts statewide.

“We want government to fast-track these repairs,” said Villaraigosa, who served as a co-chairman for the Proposition BB campaign. “I think [that], as much as possible, we’re trying to keep the commitment with the people who passed the bond.”

Kozberg, a Cabinet-level official who oversees the offices that handle school repairs and construction, also agreed to several administrative changes that will speed up Proposition BB repairs.

Kozberg said that ombudsmen will be appointed today by the Division of the State Architect and the Office of Public School Construction to expedite air-conditioning and other projects.

“I would hope we would start seeing air-conditioning on campuses this summer,” Kozberg said.

Kozberg and other state officials said the changes are necessary to ensure speedy school construction in districts across California. State officials plan to meet with Los Angeles school officials in the coming week to walk them through the expected changes in state procedures.

“We are here to help, we are not here to be an impediment,” Kozberg said. “Our attitude will be, let’s find a solution. We want to produce results. We want to produce classrooms that create an environment where children can learn.”

Los Angeles school officials said they were surprised by the response of the state officials, saying that they expected roadblocks when they went to Sacramento on Wednesday to lobby for a reduction in red tape.

“You always go up there thinking there is going to be some barrier to overcome,” Korenstein said. “But it wasn’t like that at all. Everyone was ready to help. It was a major coup . . . very, very encouraging.”