New plan for Garfield High School auditorium
Blog by Carla Rivera/Los Angeles Times
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. (more...)