LOS ALAMITOS : Option to Sell School Sites Is Criticized

Brenda Gorman says you don’t sell your family jewels every time your savings dip. Pretty soon, there would be nothing left for your children.

But that’s exactly what the Los Alamitos Unified School District is doing, Gorman and others say. Over the past several years, the school district has sold six properties, and it is once again considering selling or leasing at least one school site to solve its financial problems.

Among four properties being considered for sale or lease is the 23-acre Oak Middle School, which was closed in the mid-1980s, according to Gorman. The school is being used by the Orange County High School of the Arts. But residents say the property is too valuable to be disposed of.

“Enough is enough,” Gorman said. “The school district is not in a financial crisis right now. It should step back and consider other alternatives.”

In February, Gorman, Wendi Rothman and other residents formed Save Oak School, as word spread in Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Rossmoor that the school district was planning to sell the school or enter a long-term lease with a developer.

SOS members argue that the school may be needed in the future because of overcrowding at McAuliffe, the district’s only other middle school.

“The most suitable property . . . is Oak Middle School since it was designed for this purpose,” Rothman said.

In addition, the school has a gymnasium, tennis courts, a multipurpose center and adequate parking, all of which help serve the community, Rothman said.

“Development of the property would mean destruction of the largest open space in the district,” she said.

Since the 1970s, the district has sold six properties, three of them in the last seven years. In 1988, the school district sold Zoeter School for $3 million, and Rush School was sold in 1991 for $4.1 million. In 1986, the district office building was sold for $1.2 million, according to Ronald Murrey, the district’s business manager.

Because of these sales, the school district has about $9 million in reserve, which earns about $600,000 a year in interest, Murrey said. This is in addition to the $1.4 million in reserve--or 3% of the district’s budget--that is mandated by the state. Gorman and other critics say the school district is trying to build these reserves by selling school sites that may be needed later.

But Murrey said extra money is necessary because a shortfall of about $1.9 million is expected for the 1993-94 school year as a result of state budget cuts.

“We’re anticipating economic problems in the next two to three years,” Murrey said. “The board has looked at other alternatives, such as grants. But property is one area we’re looking at.”

Murrey said the school board has not yet decided which of the four properties would be sold, if at all. The other school sites are Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos Elementary and Laurel High School.

Two public hearings have been scheduled: May 11 at the Los Alamitos High School Performing Arts Center and May 17 at the McGaugh Elementary School auditorium in Seal Beach. Both hearings are set for 7 p.m.