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HUNTINGTON BEACH : Goals of School Task Force Still Unclear

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In the wake of an abrupt move rescinding a property fee to fund school maintenance, representatives of four school districts are now faced with hammering out an agreement with business leaders who have promised to help district officials cope with funding woes.

Although trustees from the districts said they based their decision to rescind the fee largely on the local Board of Realtors’ commitment of partnership, neither school officials nor the realtors have sketched a plan for that endeavor.

Upon overturning the $50-per-year maintenance assessment fee and disbanding the joint authority of trustees on Tuesday, that panel’s five members--from the Huntington Beach Union High, Huntington Beach City, Ocean View and Westminster school districts--issued a statement outlining the partnership with the business group.

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The statement called upon the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley Board of Realtors and the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce to help districts build “a base of financial support for public education” within two years to help make up for the lost fee, which would have raised $4.3 million to maintain school facilities and grounds.

But on Thursday, neither school officials nor a Board of Realtors leader said they had any specific goals in mind for the proposed community task force.

James M. Righeimer, president of the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley Board of Realtors, which led the campaign that eventually defeated the assessment, said his group has formally agreed to participate in a task force, but “nothing has officially been agreed upon” on what that task force will do.

David Hagen, superintendent of the high school district, said the district felt compelled to accept any offer of assistance, however vague.

“When people asked to be involved . . . we didn’t want to lose that opportunity to say yes to them,” he said. “Now we have to set up meetings and explore the issue.”

The five trustees who unanimously enacted the fee and rescinded it two weeks later were divided when asked whether the partnership will adequately supplant the money that the maintenance assessment would have raised.

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“All I can say is, after this (business) group looks at the numbers we have looked at, I think they’ll find the only way to raise enough revenue to keep our facilities the way they want them is an assessment,” said Kathy Iverson, a Westminster School District trustee who served on the authority.

“It may take five years or three years or whatever, but they’ll come to the same conclusion we came to,” she said.

Bonnie Castrey, a high school district trustee, said it is too early to expect a detailed plan for the partnership, but she is confident that the business group’s advice will prove fruitful. Residents “will demand” that the group produce tangible benefits, she said.

Castrey suggested that city officials join school officials and business leaders in developing a comprehensive regional plan for recreational facilities, including school grounds.

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