Readers Respond -- To sell or not to sell...

I’ve been a maintenance custodian in the Huntington Beach City School

District going on 20 years. I encourage the public to come out and take a

look at these schools in regards to the sale of Burke school for the

matching funds needed to bring these schools up to par (“School board

will consider selling Burke site next month,” Feb. 17).

Especially come check out Dwyer School, 1502 Palm Ave. I went to that

school. I know it’s old. Another facility to check out is the maintenance

operation facility, 770 17th St.

I encourage the public to come out and take a look at these

facilities. Also, please be sure you check in at the office areas first.

Sign in and put an ID badge on so they know who you are when you’re

wandering around these campuses.

They are our buildings, and they are your buildings. ... I encourage

the public to really come out and take a good look at these facilities.

Let them make up their own minds, not just a committee, or somebody

saying something. The public needs to come out and take a look.

BRUCE WRIGHT

Huntington Beach

I think sites that are not useful to the school district should be

sold. By keeping these closed sites, the district is eating up money for

upkeep that could be going to school sites in need of repair, and not to

mention those useful things called “books” our children need to learn

with.

Here’s a thought, instead of a Wal-Mart or other useless businesses

our area doesn’t need, how about you sell the site to a private school

and place a new private high school on the site? We, as parents, could

have another choice. You see, it really would be a win-win situation --

the public school still receives our property tax dollars to fund public

education, and we parents get the choice to pay for the education that

our children deserve!

LINDA CRANDALL

Huntington Beach

I have raised four kids in the Burke School attendance area and lived

through the original closure and all of the subsequent attempts to “sell”

Burke. The land was “donated” by (taken from) the developers as a

requirement for building homes on the tract.

The home purchasers bought homes from the developer based on a small

park, school, and open space within the tract. The school board may have

the legal right to sell the “donated” property, but the homeowners have

“moral” rights to the school/open space as it has existed for over 30

years. Neighborhoods need open space for gatherings, playing games, or

just walking through.

The school should be leased long term to another private school. The

lease option at least keeps the property for possible use by the school

district.

No one can predict the future needs of the school district. The

overcrowded conditions at Sowers Middle School, where half of the

students go to school in portables, is a prime example of bad planning.

My kids are out of school, but I would like to live in a city where

there are good uncrowded neighborhood schools with open space for today’s

and tomorrow’s children.

Selling property is a short-term, shortsighted solution to a problem

caused by poor planning and poor budgeting. The money obtained from the

sale of the property will still be managed by the same planners. This

almost insures that the budget problems will reoccur.

Keep the school; replace the planners. The planners can (should) be

replaced. The property cannot be replaced. Once it’s gone, it’s gone

forever.

STEVE MOTSKE

Huntington Beach

We object to the selling of the Burke school site in Huntington Beach

unless the land use would be for a community park. Sale for further

housing development would mean the need for more classroom space to

accommodate the new incoming families -- defeating the decision to tear

down an existing school site.

A better use would be to rent the facility, as has been done in the

past, and temporarily convert the school playgrounds to community soccer

and baseball fields, which are badly needed for our youth.

Part of the building, if not rented, could be converted to a

community meeting center for youth activities, classes for adults, etc.

The school and fields could then be easily converted back to school

classrooms and playgrounds when the school is reactivated as the makeup

of the families occupying the homes in the area changes. BOB AND DEE

COX

Huntington Beach

Yes, I think they should sell the Burke school site. It is in terrible

condition and is serving as a dog park for the area. The good it will do

far outweighs any other concerns. It will never be used as a school

again.

LLOYD EDWARDS

Huntington Beach

I do believe that Huntington Beach City School District should sell

the site so we can get the matching state funds. I have three children

and two of them are in school. I don’t know what to do with the other

ones. ... I do believe that we need to generate some money, and they need

to do it before the deadline is up.

NANCY ENRIGHT

Huntington Beach

I feel that the city of Huntington Beach should not be selling off any

of the so-called “closed school sites.”

There has been a definite shift in the young families moving into

Huntington Beach. Where will these children go if we continue to

eliminate schools? The Sowers Middle School is using trailers to

accommodate the school population now. What kind of sense does that make

when the Gisler school could have been reopened and utilized?

The reasoning behind the nonuse of Gisler was that it would cost too

much to refurbish the property. Why is it good enough for a private

Christian school to be in there now without a lot of “refurbishing?”

If homes were built onto these abandoned properties, they would not

fit in with the current neighborhoods. It seems that all the new

construction in Huntington Beach is being done on land that is raised

about 6 feet above street level. I presume that is to alleviate problems

in the case of flooding. I guess it’s OK for the rest of us to be washed

away. The Burke and Gisler schools are presently being used as schools.

Where do those children go if the properties are destroyed? Where will

the children play soccer if the Gisler field is lost?

Do any of the board members who propose [this sale] live within any of

the school’s neighborhoods? Let’s work to get our tax money back from

the state. That seems to be a more sensible approach to this problem.

Sacramento is wasting our tax dollars on bureaucracy. It’s time that

changed.

JOHN AND RUTH SLOBOM

Huntington Beach

Yes, I think Huntington Beach City School District should sell the

closed Burke site, and for very important reasons.

Keep in mind that school districts do not take the sale of school

sites lightly. The district has studied not one but two 7/11 committees

to study and recommend the disposition of these sites. Both committees

determined these sites to be surplus but have had varying recommendations

on which property to sell.

District staff and the school board have poured over demographic data,

growth projections, potential legislative issues and more. Conclusions:

school districts don’t sell property unless it is critical for their

long-term stability and needs.

So why is it critical for the district? Here’s why:

Nine of the 10 schools in the district are 25 to 60 years old and in

tremendous need of modernization -- electrical, plumbing, structural and

much more. They have the same infrastructure problems that our city and

our homes have. But school districts do not have an endless flow of money

from the state.

In fact, school districts are so tightly bound by education codes that

the average business couldn’t survive what they do. Last year, with the

passage of Proposition 1A, modernization funds became available to

districts that could match 20%. For the district, the amount is

approximately $16 million if we can match approximately $4 million.

Unfortunately, the district does not have $4 million sitting in

reserve. Like dozens of districts around us, they must examine their

assets, future needs and make prudent decisions.

Should they go deep in debt to come up with matching funds? They

could, but is this wise for a school district? I don’t believe so. I’d

rather my money go toward my children’s education and school facility

than interest and repayment of loans.

Soon, this district may seek voter support to pass a bond measure.

While those of us with children in the district will be supporting the

measure, how will we convince the 70% of voters in Huntington Beach who

do not have school-age children that they should favor a tax increase --

and, by the way, we have assets of three surplus school sites.

For the residents of the tract who are unhappy about the proposed sale

of this property -- of course it’s not a pleasant decision to face. My

kids have soccer practices there too. But please direct your frustration

to either the state Legislature, learning more about what your school

district is facing ... and/or helping the district with a bond measure.

Don’t channel your anger toward a school district that is merely

trying to provide quality schools and quality education to a community

that demands it.

When your schools start to deteriorate, so do your property values.

CARI SWAN

Huntington Beach

I am opposed to selling the Burke site. I think it’s not very nice of

[the school board] to do that when everybody that had been over there had

complained about it and didn’t want them to do that. I know that there

are other ways to take [care] of it.

JANICE DA SILVA

Huntington Beach