$$$ RFK School, Los Angeles $$$

I recently toured Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) new showpiece, the RFK school in downtown Los Angeles. I had mixed feelings about this visit. On one hand I felt despair for the community. On the other hand, I felt a sense of relief that I don't live in the school district, and won't be taxed for this 'Taj Mahal' of a monstrosity.

For those fortunate enough not to live within this school district and haven't followed the story: The Robert F. Kennedy School is the most expensive public school in our nation's history. The $578 million dollar campus built on the site of the historic Ambassador Hotel where the former senator was assassinated. This new complex serves roughly 4000 students in downtown Los Angeles. For LAUSD grads that need help with the math, that averages to about $150,000 per student. What is most galling to taxpayers is that this facility was built at a time that LAUSD experienced a budget shortfall of 640 million, and had recently laid off 3000 employees. Furthermore, the district has recently proposed shortening the school year to save money. In all fairness to planners, however, funds for construction were paid for by bond measures approved by voters. These funds were specifically earmarked for new construction, not teacher salaries.

Imagine giving public school teachers carte blanche to build the campus of their dreams (on your dime) and they would produce the RFK School. This spectacular complex covers 23 acres of urban Los Angeles. It includes 6 separate campuses, each with its own educational objectives. The facility is replete with:

1.      State of the art swimming pool

2.      State of the art technology in each classroom

3.      Luxurious auditoriums

4.      A 10 acre park

5.      A Faculty dining room 'better than most restaurants'

6.      A Faculty room that looks more like a luxury lounge of a posh resort

7.      One million dollars worth of art work. Perhaps the most striking is a mural in the library featuring RFK as he benignly looks down upon an adoring crowd. The jubilant mob is ecstatic as they reach their hands upwards to touch their chosen one, their messiah. It's interesting imagery.

The district obviously wanted this school to serve as an inspirational showpiece, imagining that it would be a pilot school for others. It's quite a lofty ambition from the district that features one of the highest drop-out rates in the state. I confidently predict, however that the quality of education in this district will remain unchanged, and the dismal graduation rate will not improve. LAUSD clearly does not understand that it has deep set problems that are not solved by throwing money at it.  Furthermore, taxpayers are foolish to believe that the profligate spending has stopped. Not by a long shot! This facility will require vast recourses required to keep it afloat. Surely RFK will continue to bleed the community dry. The flow of money that RFK has enjoyed at the onset will not continue. I predict that what is now a beautiful campus will over the years degrade into a graffiti covered wreck, blending in with the surrounding neighborhood. I see no reason to believe that the district will manage these buildings any better than other schools within its domain.

The predictable response from the school board shall certainly be the same old tired refrain: "We need more money". They always need more and more money. They always have. They always will.

Yet LAUSD cannot afford to let it's showpiece fail. The district will continue to pour inordinate amount of money into this boondoggle to keep it afloat, depriving other schools within district of much needed largess. Consequently, all schools within LAUSD will ultimately suffer.

I will joyfully retract any criticism of the RFK complex if it can be demonstrated that the people of Los Angeles are getting 'bang for the buck'. The good people of this community should demand accountability from the school board. They should be asking:

1. Have the disastrous drop-out rates of LAUSD improved?
2. Are LAUSD graduates college ready?
3. Have standardized test scores improved?
4. Could it have been done for less money?

The last question was somewhat rhetorical, as that I know the answer. I worked for nine years at a modest little parochial school that serves clientele of similar socio-economic status as that of RFK. Its tuition was under $4,000 per year, and its graduation rate of college ready students was close to 100%. It posed no tax burden upon the community. I would challenge any school within LAUSD to match that level of success on that budget.