On the site of the former Ambassador Hotel where Robert Kennedy was assassinated now stands a group of schools named in his honor, a group of schools that cost Los Angeles over $578 million.  While this extravagance may inspire students to work hard, the LA school district would have been better off using some of the money to help its teachers.

            The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Complex is composed of six schools, and will house around 4,000 students, according to the Los Angeles Times.  The $578 million to build the complex has officially made it the most expensive public school complex in the United States. 

            Building any expensive new schools may seem excessive, but it was a necessary step for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

            “Students were being bused two hours or more outside their neighborhood,” Shannon Haber, LAUSD facilities spokesperson, said. 

            What are excessive are many of the unnecessary facilities, and the price tag they warrant. Some of the money spent building the school would have been better used to hire teachers, 3,000 of whom were laid off in the past two years due to budget cuts, than to build high tech facilities.

            “These facilities are state of the art,” Haber said.  “They have day lighting, good acoustics, and professional science labs.”

            While some facilities, like the science labs, will directly aid the students’ education, others, like the 25 meter swimming pool, historical talking benches, and auditorium designed to look like the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub, are exorbitant.

            LAUSD could have cut out or reduced these and other facilities, and still built an excellent school for much less.  More of the funds, which came from voter-approved bond measures in 2006, could have gone toward fixing LAUSD’s budget problem.

            This budget crisis has led not only to teacher layoffs (which means larger class sizes), but cuts to academic programs as well, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

            These are what really drive an education – skilled teachers and effective academic programs.  They are more likely to aid a student’s learning than a big pool or a fancy auditorium.

            If the some of the money was used to hire more, quality teachers, class sizes would be smaller and the teachers and school would have an easier time reaching the students.

            However, the extravagance will still benefit the community, serving one important purpose: the inspiration it will provide.  The schools will service an impoverished area with a high dropout rate, and the beautiful buildings and facilities will help inspire students in the area to work hard in school and pursue a good education.

            LAUSD stands by the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.

            “We are not apologetic about the new school,” Haber said.  “These schools will give students the education they need.”