Chino Valley district lowers fees as property values drop

By Neil Nisperos

Staff Writer

CHINO -- The school district is trimming its developer fees to realign them with the drop in property values caused by the recession.

The Chino Valley Unified school board last week unanimously approved on Thursday last week a resolution to lower residential construction fees from $5.94 per square feet to $3.31 per square foot. The fees are used by the district to mitigate impacts to the district from properties built and residents who move in.

In the year ending in July, the median sales price of a Chino home dropped 16 percent and a Chino Hills home fell 20 percent, according to MDA DataQuick Information Systems, a real-estate data company based in La Jolla.

"Obviously, at a time when the district could use additional funds, it's always a negative impact, but nonetheless it's an adjustment the district has to make," said board President Sylvia Orozco.

At the same time, the board also voted out a paragraph in its resolution on changing the fees that in part read, "Whereas, overcrowded schools within the district have an impact on the district's ability to provide an adequate quality education and negatively impact educational opportunities for the district's students ..."

"We have three schools that are not being utilized, so district-wide, we're not overcrowded," said board member Michael Calta.

Still, parents in the district impacted by last year's three school closures have voiced concern about schools that have received displaced students this year that are experiencing crowded traffic and lunch-time conditions.

Adriana Emerick, spokeswoman for the United Parents of Chino Valley group composed of parents of displaced students, said she has heard concerns from parents at Glenmeade and Walnut elementary schools.

"There's obviously more crowding at these schools, more kids to attend to. Teachers have more kids in the classroom," she said. "Maybe their definition of overcrowding is different than ours. However, we are impacted at the receiving schools."

neil.nisperos@inlandnewspapers.com

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