Pomona board members urged to study uses for excess properties

Consultants for the Pomona Unified School District have recommended its leaders consider completing a study on properties in the district's control.

The consultants, who include specialists in school construction and financing, told Pomona Unified school board members they should consider carrying out the analysis in order to determine the best use for the properties.

Pomona Unified has more than 20 unused properties of various sizes around the district, many adjacent to existing campuses.

An analysis would include looking at all the possible uses such as leasing, selling or partnering with others to develop the properties which are mostly vacant, said Jerry Suich, president of Oxbridge Consultants.

The information the consultants presented was meant to lay out the work that would be needed, said Alex Parslow, vice president of pre-K to 12th-grade education practice at HMC Architects, after the meeting.

While the analysis may show that it would be prudent to sell some property, it may also show that some of the land can be used in ways that have not been considered before, Parslow said.

Among the things that can be done with some properties is long-term leasing that can produce steady revenue streams that would benefit school facilities, she said.

More and more often school districts are looking at such possibilities "because general funds are getting hit right now" and such options provide funds for maintaining school facilities, Parslow said.

Proceeding with such a study would cost about $120,000, district administrators said.

Board member Adrienne Konigar-Macklin asked where that money would come from, adding she's not comfortable taking that money from the district's general fund when there are questions about having enough money to meet the educational needs of students.

The district has some building funds that could be used to do a study, said Pam Lopez, assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial officer.

Interim Superintendent Richard Martinez said district personnel could determine a source of money to pay for such a study and bring the matter back to the school board for discussion.

Board President Andrew Wong said on Thursday before he can invest in a study he needs to know what the values of the properties are and what kind of financial return the district could see.

Wong said taking stock of the properties and their use is something he has sought since joining the board and a project district residents have also called for.

"The community has asked us to do this for a long time now," Wong said.

The district must make sure the assets it has "have an educational purpose," he said.

Board member Steve Lustro said he also wants to make sure the district's limited general fund dollars aren't used for this type of study.

If a different source of money can be used the study should be completed with the results helping to guide the district's future steps, he said.

Over the years, while it was growing, the district acquired property thought to be useful for expansion of facilities, he said.

Rather than growing, the district now has fewer students.

"There's been a shift from a growth mode to declining enrollment ... This is a good time to take a fresh look at those properties," Lustro said.

The district needs to evaluate the properties, he said, adding "I think there are properties that will never have a use for educational purposes."

In some instances the properties could be useful but not without making a sizable investment, Lustro said.

"I believe ultimately (an analysis) is something that needs to be done," he said.