Santa Monica : Schools Weigh Bond Plan

A citizens committee has recommended that a $75-million general obligation bond measure be put on the November ballot to help repair decaying buildings in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

The bonds would be used to make the schools structurally safe, to bring each campus up to a state of good repair and to modernize the classrooms, the School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee reported at Monday’s school board meeting.

Asbestos removal also would be required at a cost of about $17 million, according to a report by consultant Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler Inc. Other projects would include fixing Santa Monica High School’s heating, repairing the plumbing in most of the district’s 13 schools and patching cracked asphalt.

Each school would receive at least $2.5 million for renovations, with the high school receiving at least $10 million, committee members said.

The bond issue, which would require the approval of two-thirds of the voters, would be paid by property tax increases. The bonds would cost the average homeowner in the district $5.66 a month over a 25-year period of debt repayment, according to the committee. If passed on to renters, monthly rent would increase about $1 on average.

The bonds would be sold over four years to limit the increase to taxpayers and because that period corresponds to a reasonable time for repairs and construction to be done, said consultant Tony Shorris of the Hamilton firm.

A $75-million issue--amounting to about $7,800 per student--would be the largest local debt issuance for educational purposes in the state, according to the report by the consulting firm.

Because of Proposition 13 and declining enrollment, the district has faced an increasing financial crunch and has put off maintenance, the committee said. The schools, many of which are more than 50 years old, are “nearing the edge of decay,” which hinders students’ ability to learn and teacher morale, the consultant’s report stated.

Brad Jones, co-chairman of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, told the school board that SMRR’s steering committee has voted to support the bond measure.

The board will vote on the recommendation next week.