School Repairs Require Attention

Even as school officials in Orange County have been wondering whether they can afford to maintain smaller class sizes, another budgetary dilemma has made its way onto the front burner of districts. The question--to which there is no easy answer--is what to do about maintenance of school facilities as they age and need repairs or renovations.

In older urban areas of the country, the challenges of keeping buildings operational has been a familiar problem. But this area has had the benefit of new infrastructure as suburban housing tracts spread into previously undeveloped regions of the county.

But some of the older areas, particularly in North County, now are having to grapple with the same issues as exist elsewhere. In Buena Park, for example, the Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School is 31 years old, and it has a declining ventilation system that breaks down from time to time. The school district has not been able to afford a new $42,000 unit, so there has been a patchwork of responses. George Cottrell, the district’s assistant superintendent for administrative services, poses a good question: How long will it take before temporary repairs end up costing what a new replacement system would cost?

Officials at other school districts are aware that maintenance budgets do not have the selling appeal of programs, or of popular class-size reductions. Therefore, limited maintenance budgets are used only to stem the tide, rather than make repairs such as enlarging bathrooms, replacing carpets, or, in the case of the ventilation system, making a fix that will last a long time.

The problems are exacerbated by the county bankruptcy, which forced severe budget cuts. Now, the new class sizes are forcing some districts to reopen previously closed school sites, or make major repairs and modifications. Buena Park estimates that it will need $6 million over the next decade for maintenance.

For it and even the districts with newer facilities, dealing with this problem in the years ahead will pose a challenge to creative administration. Grants, commitment in the budgeting process to this important work, and good old-fashioned volunteerism and generosity of concerned parents and residents, can go a long way to making ends meet.