The Saugus Union School District governing board held its first property disposition meeting in relation to the fate of Santa Clarita Elementary School last week at Bridgeport Elementary School.
The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the same location.
During the special meeting, officials reviewed the timeline leading to the closure of Santa Clarita Elementary, the statutes governing use and disposition of district-owned property, and zoning, all topics that have been brought up during past meetings.
Nick Heinlein, the district’s assistant superintendent of business, along with Josh Randall of RTM Engineering Consultants, and Marco Eacrett, SGH Architects, discussed why the former school site had to close, citing seismic mitigation concerns and the high cost of bringing the facility up to code and rebuilding.
It would cost a minimum of $12.5 million to fix up the former school, according to Heinlein and the presentation, and it poses a challenge because the state will not want to invest that amount of money into one single site. To rebuild the entire school site, it would cost $25 million, he added.
Following the closure, the governing board must decide on what the district will do with the property, and in a presentation given by Sarine Abrahamian of Orbach Huff and Henderson LLP, a review of statutes governing use/disposition options for K-12 districts, both under the surplus statutes and the alternatives to surplus, were given as potential options.
To sell or long-term lease the property, also known as surplus, the district must offer it to public entities by notice through a newspaper publication for three successive weeks, or by direct, mailed notice. Depending on the agency, they have 40 to 60 days to respond, according to Abrahamian, and if no offers have been received, the process then moves to a public formal bidding.
If the district decides on choosing to utilize the property through a joint use/short-term lease, the district can lease it to other school districts, education agencies, government agencies, nonprofit institutions, private agencies, businesses, and individuals under certain conditions, according to the presentation. It could not be given to a private school and a short-term lease would have a five-year term limit.
Before the board can enter a joint use lease agreement, the board must know that the entity will not interfere with the educational program or activities of any school, disrupt the residents of the neighborhood, or jeopardize the safety of children in the school, it added.
Another alternative presented was a joint occupancy lease agreement, under which the district could lease it to any private person, firm or corporation, which allows the district to have ownership and maintain a presence at the site.
A fee-generating alternative allows the district to solicit proposals and enter agreements with private entities that could be paid by the persons or entities benefiting while using the site, and this option has a maximum 35-year term, according to the presentation.
The Community Recreation Act requires cities and public school districts to collaborate with each other to promote and conduct programs and public services with the goal of having educational and recreational programs for both adults and children.
During public comment, community members voiced their concerns about the fate of Santa Clarita Elementary, and many said they’d like to see the property sold to the city of Santa Clarita and turned into a recreational or historic site because it will allow the community to have influence over the decision. If sold to any other entity, they would not have any control over the decision.
Patti Rasmussen, a Newhall resident and city arts commissioner, said she had two letters written from the city showing interest in the property, one dated in August and another in September.
Heinlein responded to the comment telling those present that he followed up with city officials, specifically asking if they were offer letters to purchase the property, and they weren’t.
He encouraged community members to contact the city and urge it to submit a formal offer so the district could move forward with that option. However, the district would still need to follow the public offering process, Abrahamian said, and if an agreement cannot be reached, the city could then participate in the bidding process.
