SACRAMENTO— In an unprecedented victory for the city of Lynwood, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) and Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) announced today that they have secured $250 million in the 2022-23 State Budget to rebuild the severely damaged Lynwood High School.
In June 2020, a large portion of the ceiling at Lynwood High School collapsed, rendering the school unusable and unsafe for students, teachers, and staff. This allocation of $250 million is expected to cover the vast majority, if not all, of the construction required to fix the impacted building and allow the campus to safely reopen.
The legislators, along with the Superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District, released the following statements:
"Lynwood had a huge need due to a catastrophic circumstance," said Speaker Rendon. "I'm extremely happy that we had the opportunity to provide funding to fill that need. Any way that you look at it, the students of Lynwood schools would be the ones to suffer if the state had not stepped in. I'm grateful that I could play an important role in budgeting, so we could make sure those students will have a high-quality facility in the future."
"This is a huge victory for the students and families of Lynwood. When tragedy struck and the building collapsed at Lynwood High School Imperial Campus, faculty, staff, administrators, school board members, and the community acted quickly to make facilities available for learning," said Assemblymember Gipson. "I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Speaker Rendon, my legislative colleagues and the leaders of Lynwood Unified School District who successfully advocated for this key allocation to restore the educational environment that our students deserve. It was the right thing to do and I am pleased we got it done."
"I am thrilled to share that the state will help directly fund the reconstruction of Lynwood High School. The community of Lynwood has suffered tremendously with the loss of the Lynwood High School campus, and these students deserve immediate and adequate school facilities that ensure a safe, healthy, and welcoming environment for learning. I stand firmly alongside our Lynwood community, educators and students in advocating for this unique financial commitment, and I look forward to seeing this project come to fruition as soon as possible," said Senator Gonzalez.
"We are incredibly grateful for the urgent attention and leadership displayed by our elected officials who are paving the way for us to secure the educational environment Lynwood students deserve," Lynwood Unified Superintendent Gudiel R. Crosthwaite said. "We know that our leaders believe, as we do, that all students deserve an equitable education that should never be compromised by surroundings. We thank them for being allies in doing right by our students."
Website of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon: a62.asmdc.org
Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson proudly represents the 64th Assembly District which includes the cities and communities of Carson, Compton, Gardena, Harbor Gateway, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, South Los Angeles, Torrance, Watts/Willowbrook, and Wilmington.
Senator Gonzalez represents the 33rd Senate District, which includes the City of Long Beach and portions of South Los Angeles and Southeast Los Angeles including the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lakewood, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, Signal Hill, and South Gate. Senator Gonzalez lives in Long Beach with her husband Adam and three sons.
CONTACT: Rendon: Katie.Talbot@asm.ca.gov
Gipson: Brenda.Contreras@asm.ca.gov
Gonzalez: Leoda.Valenzuela@sen.ca.gov
Lynwood USD: jcorner@mylusd.org