Miramar Campus Empty for Five Years Costs LAUSD $20,000 Monthly

LOS ANGELES: A $34 million Los Angeles Unified campus at 1215 Miramar St., next to district headquarters, has stood empty for five years. Vandalism has punched holes in floors, walls, and ceilings. Recent interior photos show water stains and char marks.

The district pays at least $20,000 per month for security and maintenance. Last year LAUSD calculated it had spent more than $1 million to secure and maintain the building. The school's interior shows graffiti and fire damage, according to photos taken in August.

L.A. Unified enrollment has fallen about 50% over the last 23 years, from a peak of more than 720,000 K-12 students in 2003. About two-thirds of campuses operate at or below 60% of capacity, according to a recent report from the state's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team. Annual enrollment decline, previously about 2.3%, reached 3% to 5% during pandemic school closures.

The state designated Miramar for charter use because school bonds set aside for charters funded most of its construction. Camino Nuevo Charter Academy opened the campus in 2013. The school did not attract enough students to remain viable and closed in June 2021, leaving behind $8 million in unpaid state construction loan debt. That loan debt was frozen, and any next tenant must assume the payments.

Camino Nuevo's former head, Ana Ponce, said the campus was too far from the organization's other schools, which are clustered one to two and a half miles to the west. A 2023 financial disclosure filing from Camino Nuevo cited chronic under-enrollment and noted as many as 10 high schools within a one-mile radius.

The Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise has repeatedly expressed interest in the property. The school has operated from four locations since 2005 and currently runs out of nearby Belmont High. Principal Alejandro Macias said some families tell the school that uncertainty about a permanent campus affects enrollment decisions.

To take over Miramar, the district requires $750,000 for prior operation and maintenance costs, a monthly charge of more than $70,000 for the first three years, assumption of the $8,083,564 state loan balance with estimated annual debt service of $457,783, and repairs to the building, which is offered as is. A contractor's preliminary estimate put repair costs at $1.86 million.

L.A. Unified officials declined to answer questions about the property's history. They referred queries to court documents from a dispute over whether the district had to provide the site to a charter school. In a statement, unnamed officials said each site presents its own circumstances and requires review and community engagement. No deal has emerged to bring students back to the school.