Trustees finalize sale of KOCE

Marisa O’Neil

Coast Community College District trustees voted Wednesday night to

accept the final terms submitted by the KOCE-TV Foundation to buy the

public broadcasting channel.

That vote brings the deal one step closer to fruition, but leaves

one major obstacle: Christian broadcaster Daystar Television Network

is still suing the district for the right to buy the station.

“We think we’ve done the right thing,” trustee George Brown said

of the 4-0 vote in favor of accepting the terms.

Daystar’s attorney argued before the vote that the company should

have been named the highest responsible bidder for its $25.1-million

cash offer, which would provide instant relief to the cash-strapped

district. The California Education Code states that community college

districts can sell property “for cash” to the “highest responsible

bidder.”

“[The trustees] completely glossed over the fact that they

violated California law,” Daystar’s attorney, Richard Sherman, said.

“[The foundation] clearly can’t pay even the down payment. It’s a

joke. I’m hopeful the courts will do justice and what happened

tonight will be set aside.”

The total purchase price of the agreement is $28 million, with $8

million up front and the rest on a promissory note, significantly

less than the $32-million bid that the district accepted from the

foundation in October. The decreased amount, district officials said,

takes into account other compensation, such as television programming

that the station will provide for the district, including 40 hours a

week of televised college courses.

Daystar’s suit is asking the courts to halt the sale and allow it

to buy the station for its originally offered price. Sherman

reiterated a proposal from Daystar to allow the KOCE-TV Foundation to

program one channel on its digital spectrum if his client is allowed

to buy the station, but foundation President Bob Brown wasn’t

interested.

“Whoever owns the [broadcast] license is in control,” he said. “We

would be totally at the whim of someone else.”

Trustees will be taping depositions next week for the case, and a

hearing may take place as early as next month.

Before the vote, a representative of another early bidder for the

station, Community Educational Television, spoke out against

Daystar’s legal action. That organization is part of Costa Mesa-based

Trinity Broadcasting Network, another Christian broadcaster.

“We ask Daystar to dismiss this ill-conceived lawsuit and allow

the process to move forward as intended,” said John Casoria, attorney

for Trinity. “To take the station away from the people of Orange

County is just plain wrong.”

Casoria said his client intends to get involved in the court

proceedings. And if the court nullifies the agreement with the

foundation, Trinity will ask for a rebid of the station and will be

“a live and active participant.”

The deal for the fundraising arm of Orange County’s only PBS

station to buy it from the district looked like a bust last week.

Trustees balked at the foundation’s proposed plan, which would have

required the district to take a back seat to the bank if the new

owners hadn’t been able to pay their bills.

Foundation officials announced earlier this week that they felt

they could secure a loan for the deal without the subordination

agreement.

“We would not have passed this [with the subordination loan],”

George Brown said. “I commend the foundation for taking corrective

action.”

Now, the foundation will have to pay $100,000 of its $8 million

down payment to the district. Bob Brown said the foundation the money

ready and had offers of financing for the rest of the deal.

After approval of the deal by the Federal Communications

Commission, the foundation will have to pay the remaining $7.9

million of the down payment and finance the rest.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.