Los Angeles Unified School District

Year	Student Enrollment
1993-1994	639,129
1994-1995	632,973
1995-1996	647,612
1996-1997	667,305
1997-1998	680,430
1998-1999	695,885
1999-2000	710,007
2000-2001	721,346
2001-2002	735,058
2002-2003	746,852
2003-2004	747,009
2004-2005	741,283

The Los Angeles Unified School District ( the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. As of 2005 it serves over 710,000 students. The current superintendent (as of 2005) is former Colorado governor and Democratic Party chairman Roy Romer.

The Los Angeles Unified School District serves Los Angeles and all or portions of several adjoining California cities. The LAUSD is so large that it has its own police department. The Los Angeles School Police Department was established in August of 1948 to create a safe and tranquil environment for the students, teachers and staff.

The LAUSD is locally known for extremely overcrowded schools and poor maintenance. However, a significant number of the schools do not exhibit such conditions and the LAUSD has cleaned up some schools in recent years.

A recent attempt at reform led to the creation of 11 minidistricts with decentralized management. Due to the cost of this additional bureaucracy, Superintendent Romer called for merging the minidistricts to cut overhead. United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing teachers, supported the plan to cut the number of minidistricts. In 2004, the number of minidistricts was reduced to eight.

Properties

The LAUSD is the almost certainly the largest property owner in Los Angeles. Two recent development projects have generated controversy. The Belmont Learning Center was originally envisioned as a mixed-use education and retail complex to include several schools, shops and a public park. Ground was broken for construction in 1995. Midway through construction it was discovered that explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide were seeping from an old underground oil field. Later, an active surface fault was found under one of the completed buildings, necessitating its removal. The LAUSD had spent an estimated $175 million dollars on the project by 2004, with an additional $110 million budgeted for cleanup costs. The total cost is estimated by LAUSD at $300 million, but critics have said it may end up closer to $500 million.

Another controversial development has been the Ambassador Hotel. The LAUSD purchased the defunct landmark in 2001 after a legal battle dating back to 1989. Plans to demolish the building, site of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, have met with opposition from preservationists.