Schools’ Building Plans Abandoned

About $110 million in school construction projects promised to Anaheim voters when they approved a bond measure in 2002 will be abandoned because of a funding shortfall caused by mismanagement, Anaheim Union High School District officials said Thursday.

The shortfall, identified last year by auditors who found that the district’s construction program was rife with overspending and lack of oversight, will scuttle renovations to three aging high schools and six junior highs.

“While some of the information is disheartening, it is good to have solid data that tells us exactly where we are financially,” said Supt. Joseph M. Farley. A report outlining the district’s plans was presented to school board members Thursday night.

The 37,000-student district serves seventh- through 12th-graders in Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma and Stanton. In 2002, the district embarked on a $330-million construction and modernization plan, partly funded through a $132-million voter-approved bond measure.

Cost overruns led board members to call for an independent audit of the construction program last spring. The audit found a $49-million shortfall, lengthy delays, a lack of oversight of projects and a failure by the district to secure tens of millions of dollars in state matching funds. At the school board’s request, the county district attorney’s office began its own review of the district’s construction program, which is ongoing.

On Thursday, district administrators described steps they had taken to correct the management of the building and modernization projects, as well as its finances.

The starkest news was that the district could not afford modernization projects at Magnolia, Savanna and Western high schools and six junior high schools.

The district plans to complete its most pressing projects at Anaheim, Cypress, Katella, Kennedy and Loara high schools, Oxford Academy, and two junior high campuses over the next three years. The work will cost $266 million, funded through the bond money and augmented by state matching funds and district reserves.

But the district is $18 million short of funding the work that’s needed, which could mean cuts to work that was planned, said Timothy D. Holcomb, deputy superintendent and chief facilities officer. He said he hoped to find that money through savings in other areas.

Oversight of construction projects has been strengthened through replacing key personnel, Holcomb said.