The fate of the fire-damaged auditorium at Garfield High School may be decided Tuesday as the Los Angeles Board of Education considers a plan to pay for the rebuilding of the historic structure.
The auditorium was gutted in a May 2007 arson fire. A 17-year-old Garfield student was convicted of setting the blaze, sentenced to juvenile camp and ordered to pay restitution. The fire caused an estimated $30 million in damage to the East Los Angeles landmark.
Since then, the Los Angeles Unified School District has been mired in a dispute with insurers over the scope of reconstruction. The two sides have engaged in mediation without progress, which has frustrated school administrators, students and community members.
Now the district is proposing to separate the insurance claim and use a financing mechanism called Certificates of Participation, which would eventually be repaid with future insurance payments, private funds and other sources. The district would use money from the general fund for the project — estimated to cost $54 million — until the other funding sources become available.
The plan calls not only for rebuilding the auditorium using design features that mimic the 1925 structure’s original architectural details, but razing and rebuilding the attached administration building to meet current state codes.
If Tuesday’s proposal gets the go-ahead, the district will return by June with a final design plan and an environmental study for the board’s approval, district officials said.
— Carla Rivera