LOS ALAMITOS : District Considers Sale of School Site

Faced with financial difficulties, the Los Alamitos Unified School District is considering the sale of a closed school in Rossmoor.

Originally, the district wanted to arrange a long-term lease of the site of the school, which was closed in the late 1970s. However, because there were no qualified bidders, the district is now thinking of selling the property, Supt. Michael Miller said.

A district committee has estimated the site would sell for $5.8 million to $7.2 million. Most likely, houses would be built on the property, Miller said.

“Our hope is to use the revenue from that to maintain the current educational program and recover some of the budget reductions that we’ve had to make in the last four years,” Miller said. Since 1986, the district has trimmed more than $2 million from its budget as a result of state budget cuts, Miller said.

“We’re spending more than we’re taking in, and we’ve been doing that annually,” said Virginia Wilson, president of the district Board of Trustees .

The district has not set a deadline for selling the property, but the board will be discussing the issue at its next few meetings, Miller said.

Community members are concerned about the idea of selling the site, however, and have passed out surveys and fliers about the proposal. They say they want the district to consider other options.

“We supported Measure K last spring hoping that some other solution would be found to get some funding and now it’s like they’re in a ‘must sell’ mode,” said Dwayne Mahlan, past president of the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn.