Commission says sell Burke

Andrew Wainer

After five months of exhaustive analysis and rancorous debate, the

facilities commission of the Huntington Beach City School District has

recommended the district sell its Burke School site.

The group formally presented its nonbinding final report on use of the

district’s three closed sites to the board of trustees Tuesday.

The committee’s study sparked an explosion of community outrage during

public hearings. Residents protested that selling one of the sites would

lower property values and force neighborhood children to be bused to

other, more distant, schools.

At just less than 8 acres, Burke is the smallest of the schools under

consideration for sale. Last month, more than 100 residents turned up at

a public hearing to protest the Levee Drive site’s possible sale.

Board members said they also have reservations regarding the committee’s

recommendation to sell Burke.

“The site is toward the middle of the district,” trustee Brian Garland

said. “If we were to reopen a site in the future, due to enrollment

concerns, Burke would be among the first.”

It is now up to the board to make a decision on the committee’s

recommendations.

The district is pondering how to come up with $35 million to $45 million

to repair its aging structures. It is eligible for about $15 million in

state facility repair funds but must come up with the $3.7 million of its

own to win the state matching funds.

Garland said the board would begin to reconsider its facility issues as

early as the next board meeting later this month.

In addition to leasing or selling a property to come up with the funds,

Supt. Duane Dishno has suggested issuing a general obligation bond or

taking out a loan.

The district has already hired a consultant who is polling residents to

determine the chances a bond would have if it were put to vote. The

district could issue a bond election as soon as June.

District director of facilities Frank Blonska said applications for

modernization projects are already being prepared to send to Sacramento

in spite of the fact that the district has not specified how it will fund

the projects.

Blonska said the state will begin disbursing Proposition 1A funds July 1, and the district wants to reserve its place in line even if it is not

certain how it will pay for the repairs.