LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation

[woo me with science]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFaX7HQ8F0dvnvC-r2l5huEACLkwD9HONLRG0

LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation

By CHRISTINA HOAG (AP) – 3 hours ago

LOS ANGELES — Next month's opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be auspicious ....With an eye-popping price tag of $578 million, it will mark the inauguration of the nation's most expensive public school ever.

The K-12 complex to house 4,200 students has raised eyebrows across the country as the creme de la creme of "Taj Mahal" schools, $100 million-plus campuses boasting both architectural panache and deluxe amenities.

.....

Not everyone is similarly enthusiastic.

"New buildings are nice, but when they're run by the same people who've given us a 50 percent dropout rate, they're a big waste of taxpayer money," said Ben Austin, executive director of Parent Revolution who sits on the California Board of Education. "Parents aren't fooled."

At RFK, the features include fine art murals and a marble memorial depicting the complex's namesake, a manicured public park, a state-of-the-art swimming pool and preservation of pieces of the original hotel.

.....

The pricey schools have come during a sensitive period for the nation's second-largest school system: Nearly 3,000 teachers have been laid off over the past two years, the academic year and programs have been slashed. The district also faces a $640 million shortfall and some schools persistently rank among the nation's lowest performing.
.....

(more at link)

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Confusious]

1. What a waste

Not the building of the school itself, but the amount of money spent on it. You probably could have gotten 2 or 3 schools for that price, and taught 12,000 kids.

Or maybe refurbished 100's of older schools for half the amount. New equipment, new computers, new ceilings, etc.

[gmoney]

3. Agreed... Limbaugh etc will have a field day with this

"Over half a BILLION dollars for a school? Teachers unions now demanding to have palaces while test scores are worse than ever before? Etc..."

And to a point, they'll be right... plus it has a big blue bullseye on the front door being named for RFK. LA should have named it the "G.W. Bush Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too" to deflect criticism

[REP]

2. Holy fuck, what a huge waste of money. Marble statutes won't make kids learn better.

Saw this kind of wasteful crap in my hometown, with a radio/TV station built in a high school. No money for decent teachers or competent admin, but plenty to throw away on useless shit that makes friends of the admin rich. No wonder school levies get voted down.

[ellisonz]

5. The statute is of RFK in what was the Ambassador Hotel.

[KamaAina]

4. How far would $578M go to make sure ALL kids in L.A. get to learn?

And why on Earth is this gilt-edged mausoleum being named for RFK, a man of the people??!! :wtf:

[Jim Lane]

13. It's named for RFK because it's on the site of the Ambassador Hotel, where he was murdered.

It's appropriate that a school on that site be named for him. Whether it's appropriate to spend this much on any school, regardless of where it or whom it's named for, is of course another question.

[indepat]

6. Were they trying to: out-panache the US Embassy in Baghdad?

;)

[Texasgal]

7. Give teachers a RAISE FIRST!

Jaysus... :mad:

[Turbineguy]

8. At least the Contractors made money

and that seems to be the primary reason for having an educational system.

[w4rma]

9. Good. This is about the best thing I've seen tax money spent on recently.

I'm glad they are doing the opposite of what the Soviet Union did with all of their schools and public buildings and make them bland and utilitarian.

[backwoodsbob]

10. please tell me that's sarcasm

[w4rma]

11. It absolutely is not. It's good to see some *real* money spent on education.

Also, by renovating this historical place they will *have* to make a good impression by hiring good teachers at good rates. And the work/education environment looks like it will be top notch.

[Egalitariat]

12. Good parents make good students, and good students make good schools

Buildings, curricula, teachers, administrators, lunch ladies, and bus drivers are secondary factors.