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Beverly Hills High School Wasted $3 Mil. In Bond Money In Futile Legal Battle Over The Purple Line
Beverly Hills High School, which has long opposed a Purple Line extension slated to run underneath school grounds, has spent at least $3.1 million of voter-approved bond money in a losing fight against Metro in court over the subway line. Measure E was approved by voters in 2008 to allow the Beverly Hills Unified School District to borrow up to $334 million put towards "modernizing school facilities; making structural seismic repairs; upgrading, repairing and reconstructing classrooms."
Litigation to fight futile battles against Metro was not included in the outline of what the bond money would be used towards. The only major construction project funded by the bonds as of June 30, 2013 was a renovation to the Horace Mann School auditorium, according to the Los Angeles Register. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has said that the matter "certainly raises an eyebrow."
The school district has long opposed the subway extension that would run underneath the grounds of Beverly Hills High School, preferring a proposal that would have the Purple Line run along Santa Monica Boulevard. They have cited concerns ranging from seismological activity, methane gas buildup, to even terrorism in their opposition.
Independent audits have found that the total amount spent in the legal battle with Metro between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2013 have summed up to $3.1 million, though Beverly Hills Weekly recently reported that the figure was closer to $4.1 million.
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Beverly Hills Councilman William W. Brien suggested the district to drop the matter and move on: "It's time to figure out how to [build the subway extension] in a way that protects and mitigates any of the concerns that the city and the school district have."
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