LA HABRA : Hearing to Key on School Grounds Fee

The La Habra School District will hold a public hearing tonight on a proposed annual assessment fee that would be used to offset costs for use and maintenance of recreational facilities on school grounds.

If passed, the $32 yearly fee would be charged to all homeowners in the city and would be paid semi-annually with the county tax bill. It could raise up to $325,000 in its first year, according to Ken Chandler, business support services administrator for the school district.

Mobile home and business owners would be exempt because they are less likely to use school grounds, district officials said.

Members of the board of trustees said the fee, which would be levied by establishing a maintenance assessment district, is necessary to recover costs for providing the community with grounds and equipment for recreation and sports activities.

The assessment district would be established under the state Lighting and Landscape Act of 1972, which normally is used by public agencies to raise funds for street lighting, sewer systems and sidewalks. The law allows the establishment of such districts without voter approval.

School districts throughout the state have been considering creating the maintenance districts to offset shrinking general funds affected by the recession and state budget cuts.

The Orange Unified district recently became the second school district in the state to form an assessment district and adopt the fees. Last week, the Buena Park School District bowed to public pressure and opted not to impose the fee. Five other districts in the county will take up the issue next week.

Chandler said Monday that he has received “some 40 phone calls and 30 letters to date, and all but two are in protest of the fee.”

Chandler said equipment and grounds at many schools are in need of repair or improvement, and the need could become greater if pending legislation that would require updating safety features of school equipment is passed in Sacramento.

If approved, the La Habra fee could appear on tax bills as soon as October. The fee could then be reestablished by resolution on an annual basis, without a public hearing.

The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. tonight at Imperial Middle School, 1450 S. Schoolwood Drive.