The $600 million effort to rebuild three LA unified schools burned in the Palisade fire hit a significant milestone earlier than planned. Alberto Carvalho said Friday.
Calling debris removal a “crucial moment for all of us,” he detailed a reconstruction plan aimed at quickly returning students to campus.
“We recognize today that goodwilled people can open up a common ground and unite and achieve great things,” Carvalho said with Mayor Karen Bass, of Parisades Charter Primary School, one of the burning campuses.
Approximately 70% of the schools were destroyed by a fire that began on January 7th. Now, almost three months later, the tidy soil spread remains in the space where the structure once stood.
The bus touted the speed of debris removal throughout the fire-charging region of Palisades, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and burned over 23,000 acres, saying, “We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the Palisades are rebuilt as soon as possible.”
The US Army Corps of Engineers cleared up the pieces from Palisade Charter Primary School.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Marquez Charter Primary School was also destroyed, and Palisade Charter High School was closed due to major damage. Students from two primary schools have moved to a nearby public school.
According to Carvalho, the next steps in the reconstruction effort include contracting architects and engineers. He added that ongoing environmental testing of the soil and remaining structures will be conducted at three sites. Authorities are also taking steps to place portable classrooms on one of the sites. This is part of a plan aimed at bringing students back to campus “as soon as possible,” but he said, “soon the community wants it to happen.”
Carvalho said it would cost around $150 million to rebuild each primary school and around $300 million to rebuild a significant portion of the Palisades.
The school’s 2,445 students have been online for classes since the fire, but will soon move to the former Sears building in downtown Santa Monica. Only about 30% of Palisade High’s campuses, including some classroom buildings and athletics facilities, have been damaged or destroyed, but that’s a much larger site than the two primary schools.
Carvalho said the district will tap on the $9 billion construction bond voter approved to begin construction in November. It “will never have come at a better time,” he said. The district will also use approximately $50 million from its insurance contracts. They then turn to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We will frontload our financial liability in our own dollars approved by the people of good cities in Los Angeles and then seek a refund from the federal government,” he said.
However, Carvalho also addressed questions about federal support for projects such as the LAUSD reconstruction effort. Over the past few months, the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in funding in many areas, including public health and education.
“If I say there are concerns about federal assistance accommodations not only here in California, but across the country, I think that’s an understatement of 10 years,” Carvalho said. “We are facing issues of reconstruction of Palisades in our country that have been affected by fires, natural disasters, storms, hurricanes, etc., or part of our country… [be] Politicization. We certainly hope that disasters will not be weaponized for political gain. It’s embarrassing, anyone who does so is shameful. ”
Clothing remained at Palisade Charter Elementary School after the school was damaged by the Palisade fire.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
A representative from FEMA said that La Unified’s request for assistance has been approved and that “the exact amount of funds and reimbursement depends on facility eligibility, work carried out and the associated costs. [agency’s Public Assistance funding] process. ”
FEMA spokesman Brandi Richard Thompson said:
At least four private schools have been burned out, including St. Matthew’s Parish school and village schools. Both have moved to Santa Monica office buildings. Several public and private schools have also been destroyed by Etonfire, including the Pasadena Waldorf School and Elliott Arts Magnet Academy.
Carvalho said the speed of cleaning on the property in Pallisard’s district could portray a foreshadowing for other campuses seeking to resume quickly.
“The processes we currently use for debris removal, soil testing, environmental mitigation and reconstruction processes are literally reducing our reconstruction timeline by up to 50%,” he said. “It portends a good for the community as a whole, if not the statewide, in terms of embracing better, faster, faster, stronger processes.”
Also on Friday, Bass announced that nearly $1 million in donations from benefits concert initiative Fireaid and donations from others will restore the playground at Palisades, damaged in the fire. Overall, support has exceeded $1.3 million, Bass” office said in a statement. Private funding allows playgrounds to open faster than expected. When modified, it includes a play fire truck paying homage to the first responders who fought the flames.
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