What If . . .
the Ambassador Hotel could be saved as a school
The need for school seats is so dire that the Ambassador site’s proposed 4,371 seats could be filled with students from within a four-block radius. Most of these children are either bused out of their neighborhood or they attend overcrowded campuses.
Because of funding and crowding pressures, the Conservancy worries about an institutional bias against preservation, as being too “outside the box.” Dishman thinks the school district has vastly overestimated preservation costs while underestimating financial benefits from the preserved building, which is larger than what would be needed for the school. “In the cost analysis, there is no economic value given to additional space that could be used in lots of ways. And no credit is given to the value of what education could be in the historic hotel.”
But school-board member David Tokofsky understands. “We can save the historic elements of the Ambassador Hotel and we must,” he said in a statement. “As a former U.S. history teacher, I cannot stand idly by while the school district considers erasing actual physical American history.”
This sort of assertiveness is not habitual Tokofsky fare, who more typically plays the role of fiscal watchdog — obstructing projects or policies he opposes, sometimes in hindsight, well after key decisions have been made. Here, he could embrace a difficult opportunity to exert upfront leadership, especially when it comes to using his office as a bully pulpit to establish spending priorities and perhaps to attract outside money.
“We cannot educate for the future by destroying our past,” said Tokofsky. A solid point, but L.A. Unified is prepared to do just that unless other forces counter with the right combination of funding and leadership.
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