COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:Enhanced education funds needed

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a copy of the letter that Huntington Beach City School Board member Cathy McGough recently sent to Sen. Tom Harman, Assemblyman Jim Silva and Huntington Beach City Council members. She asked that it also be printed in the Huntington Beach Independent.

You may have read that the Huntington Beach City School Board (of which I am a member) is considering its four closed school sites for sale or lease. We have just issued an RFP (request for proposals).

These comments are mine and made as an individual and not as the authorized representative of the board, which is Board President Brian Rechsteiner. I would like to share with you my thoughts and ask for your support in actively supporting legislation and a state budget which not only maintain educational funding, but more importantly, enhance it.

The board is considering all scenarios offered in a sale or lease proposal to “test the waters,” so to speak in an effort to be certain it has maximized all its assets.

Leaving one or two assets out of the “Request for Proposals” (such as Gisler or Burke schools) would be contrary to good fiscal management. The board has determined that two of the properties may be sold without “below market” pricing to municipalities.

The board has never discussed any intention of selling and building anything remotely like a Lowes or Wal-Mart. All schools are in residential communities. And the RFP includes asking for scenarios dealing with leases.

As you well know, the board may only use proceeds to enhance facilities, build, modernize, repair, maintain. However, funds may offset general fund expenditures that would have had to be made on these facility needs … in my opinion, wise use of these funds may prevent a future modernization bond or burdensome loan.

FYI, the district is one of the lowest per pupil funded K-8 districts in the county and has one of the lowest administrator-teacher ratios. It is in serious need of financial enhancement or at least assurance that it has maximized its assets.

The district has serious facility needs at Dwyer-Smith … projects that could not be included in the bond and have been needed for over 20 years.

Dwyer has 8 acres compared to Sowers’ nearly 15 acres. The Smith-Dwyer complex needs to get rid of bussing and maintenance for improved safety and facilities and greater open space play area for the children.

But then, maintenance and transportation needs a facility of its own. Dwyer needs parent parking and improved parental access (Dwyer has none). Sowers also needs facility improvement, although it has come a long way with the current bond projects (as has Dwyer).

In my opinion, the district would very much like to add to its current class size reduction (CSR) program, but this is at an exorbitant cost … the state grossly underfunds CSR and expects districts to make up the difference out of its already well-below-national-average funding.

For California to be so below the national average in funding per pupil and have such a high standard of living, a greater percentage of our budget goes to employee salaries than other states … and this is especially the case in our district with its low funding in OC. Thus we have less funding for these facility and maintenance needs.

School districts that have excess property must maximize their assets in order to be financially responsible to their children and communities.

Taxpayers must feel confident that school boards are using funding wisely and enhancing assets fully.

The district has had more than one enrollment projection study that has determined it is in longtime and ongoing declining enrollment. With property values high, few parents with young children can afford to move into our neighborhoods. The district is at a point where it has already projected a need to close an additional school (with four properties closed already).

Given the cost of real property in Huntington Beach, would your children be able to purchase a house in Huntington Beach? Do you think K-8 families will cause another “boom” in Huntington Beach in the future as they did in the past booms? I don’t believe so. However, I think it is wise to “reserve” at least two properties in case the state ever gets wise and pays for additional class size reduction(CSR) funding.

As a 30-plus year resident of Huntington Beach and a 15-year board member, I urge you to really make education a priority by your actions and not just words.

As recently as two weeks ago, the legislators proposed to balance the state funding crisis again by cutting funding to schools, and as of this date, there is still no state budget or increased funding for education. Why?

Our schools are still below the national average while achieving some of the highest standards in the nation.

Have you contacted Dana Rohrabacher and asked him why the feds do not pay for its mandated 40% of special education costs (and only funds about 8-10%)? What exactly does a “federal mandate” mean?

We must pay the rest of the federal bill with our children’s state educational dollars. Have our legislators really made education a priority when boards are forced to be the bad guys with education being underfunded at both the federal and state levels?

Boards are caught between a rock and a hard place. Parents want more money to go into the classrooms (like class size reduction, a genuine concern) but at the same time school employees want a salary that will keep up with the cost of living in California. School Employees are already well behind private employment for comparable education, experience, and responsibility. Our district employees can’t afford to purchase a home anywhere in the county, let alone in Huntington Beach. School boards need to offer competitive salaries to draw in the best teacher applicants.

The problems of school finance are complex, at best. School boards such as HBCSD need to examine all financial possibilities, including the sale of property or lease agreements.

Thank you for “listening.” I ask for your actions and welcome your input.