San Pedro- On Thursday, March 26th, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) will formally award the Port of Los Angeles High School (POLAHS) with the $75,000.00 Community Services Grant at a classroom dedication ceremony. The grant was used by POLAHS as part of a $1,600,000 expansion project that added 19,000 square feet of new classrooms and allowed student enrollment to grow by more than 150 students. Guest speakers include CRA/LA CEO, Cecilia Estolano, Economic Development Director, Gordon Teuber, Pacific Corridor Community Advisory Committee Chairman, Jayme Wilson, POLAHS Executive Director, James Cross and POLAHS Board of Trustees President, Camilla Townsend. Community leaders, business owners, parents and students will gather to formally dedicate a classroom to the CRA/LA.
For more than half a century, the CRA/LA has been Los Angeles' public agency established to attract private investment into economically depressed communities, eliminate slums, abandoned or unsafe properties, and blight throughout Los Angeles. CRA/LA revenues come from property "tax increment," a portion of the property taxes collected in a redevelopment project following the date of project adoption. CRA/LA is governed by state regulations but takes its direction from the mayor and city council. Its work is overseen and managed by a board of seven commissioners who are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. According to a city ordinance adopted in 1991, all actions taken by CRA/LA are subject to city council approval.
As part of the CRA/LA's Los Angeles Harbor development area, POLAHS was highlighted for its college preparatory program. "This is the kind of community partnership that helps us meet the educational demands of today's age. We are grateful that the CRA/LA sees the importance of aiding in our expansion," says POLAHS Executive Director, James Cross. In 2009, POLAHS hopes to further expand the campus' second floor.
The Port of Los Angeles High School (http://www.polahs.net) is a not-for-profit, tuition-free charter high school open to all residents of California. Since 2005, POLAHS has fused a college preparatory program with electives in International Business and Maritime Studies. |
