Over the summer, 23 repair and renovation projects, with a total budget of $20 million, have been underway at 21 schools in Board District 5, which includes Northeast Los Angeles.
NELA’s slice of the pie includes the following:
Buchanan Street Elementary School (Highland Park): New playground structure and matting in the kindergarten yard
Eagle Rock Elementary School: New auditorium lighting
Eagle Rock High School: Seismic retrofit in the practice gym
Garvanza Elementary School: Window blinds for auditorium and the decorative wall
Glassell Park Elementary School: New flooring and painting
Irving Middle School (Glassell Park): Repair of water damage and replacement of flooring
Florence Nightingale Middle School (Cypress Park): Portable buildings are being removed
Yorkdale Elementary School (Highland Park): Deteriorated chalkboards are being replaced with whiteboards
The work is done by employees and contractors of the Facilities Services Division of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Facilities Division works year-round, but spends the summer on projects that would create the most disruption if done during the school year. Such projects include those that take place in a classroom, take a gym out of service or eliminate parking spaces. “Our job is to support a learning environment where students can thrive and meet their potential,” said Greg Garcia, Director of Project Execution in the LAUSD Facilities Services Division. So to the extent possible, the noisiest, dustiest and most intrusive work is scheduled to start — and finish — in the summer.
Working through the summer also frees up the Facilities Division to respond to the tens of thousands of service requests it receives each month during the school year – everything from repairing major building systems to fixing leaky faucets.
The work is never ending and improvement is always possible. But in ways large and small, several school buildings in NELA will be in better condition when students return this month than they were when school let out in June.
