ROSSMOOR : Sale of Rush School Site Needs Final OK

The sale of an 8 1/2-acre school site to be converted into a park will face its final hurdle when the Los Alamitos Unified School District takes up the matter Monday.

If the school board approves the sale, an assessment district of Rossmoor property owners will be formed to buy the Rush Elementary School property through a $5-million, 30-year bond.

In an advisory election June 25 for the Rossmoor Community Services District, homeowners approved the plan 55% to 45%. It will add an estimated $109 annually to their property tax bills.

Based on the vote and study committee recommendations, the Rossmoor Community Services District approved the school site purchase at its meeting Monday.

In the purchase agreement is a provision that should the Rush property be sold, the school district will not sell the Lee Elementary School property on Silverwood Drive for at least 25 years, Assistant Supt. David Hatton said.

The school district had to sell a surplus school site sometime this summer because $400,000 in interest income from sale of property was included in its fiscal 1991-92 budget, Hatton said.

The value of the Rush school property, which is in the 3000 block of Blume Drive, is estimated at $6 million. If the school board approves the sale, however, the purchase price will be an estimated $4.2 million. A state law requires that the school district make 30% of the site available to other government agencies for 25% of its value.

The school district board will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the district office, 10293 Bloomfield St., Los Alamitos.