This week, The Enterprise continues a series of stories contrasting the views of the five candidates for the Davis Board of Education — incumbent Susan Lovenburg and challengers Alan Fernandes, Jose Granda, Nancy Peterson and Claire Sherman. The top two vote-getters will be sworn in as trustees in December.

This week’s question: “What should the school board do with the district’s surplus properties? Sell now and put the money toward modernizing Emerson Junior High? Hold on to the land and wait for the real estate market to recover?

Susan Lovenburg: “The district’s Grande and Nugget Fields/Wildhorse properties have both been declared surplus under the state-prescribed process. The school board took the additional step of working with city government to reach agreement on a pre-approved development plan. Both properties are ready for sale, but the board has been reluctant to sell with property values depressed.

“It is time to assess when and how the properties will be brought to market. Though we have no interest in a fire sale, the district has significant unmet facility needs and very limited facilities dollars. Additional sources of funding must be found.

“I am also interested in exploring the possibility of developing the district office property at Fifth and B streets in some form of public-private partnership which would generate ongoing revenue for the district.”

Nancy Peterson: “The district has four options: 1) sell and use the funds to meet facility needs, 2) hold on and wait for land values to recover more fully, 3) venture into a revenue-producing lease of the land and 4) a combination of 1-3. Revenue generation, option 3, is an attractive consideration for this district, both in terms of supplementing the general fund and improving the district’s financial solvency. This option is therefore worth investigating for feasibility and reliability.

“Options 1 and 2 require a market value to be established and met before initiating the process to sell. If the land were sold, the proceeds would go toward facilities, not the general fund. Although the state has granted flexibility to allow property sales to go into the general fund, the district would be required to demonstrate an absence of facility needs. This would not apply, as DJUSD has many pressing facility needs.”

Claire Sherman: “Modernizing Emerson Junior High School is long overdue. The Grande site has been vacant for over 40 years! The real estate market has peaked and troughed many times during this period. When will the real estate market recover? No one is certain, but what is irrefutable is that Emerson JHS will continue to languish. While we wait for another recovery, the expense of modernizing Emerson will increase as well.

“If selling the site, whereby all proceeds must be spent on capital improvements, is considered ill-advised during this economic downturn, then another option exists. The district could administer a long-term lease on the property whereby the district would receive revenue from this project over time. These revenues could then be spent on modernizing Emerson and other capital improvement projects over the course of the lease.

“Now is the time to examine opportunities for DJUSD to derive funds from its various properties.”

Alan Fernandes: “The fiduciary responsibility of a school board trustee requires active management of all school district assets, including its surplus property, and especially in times of financial stress. Historically, the law provided little flexibility to school districts when selling surplus property. However, during the present fiscal crisis the Legislature has provided more flexibility to districts when using the proceeds of the sale of surplus property. (See, Education Code Section 17463.7)

“When assessing surplus property it is important to determine whether the property is being used and whether it is likely to be needed in the future. If the property is unused, and there is no future need, then selling the property is one option. However, because current market conditions are not ideal for a sale, I favor exploring alternative options of using surplus property to generate lease payments which, pursuant to existing law, become unrestricted district funds and maintain property ownership.”

Jose Granda: “Whose properties are these? These are the taxpayers’ property, not ‘surplus’ properties. It makes sense to use them for the education of our children. The school board made a bad decision in closing Valley Oak. Result: overcrowded classes. We cannot jump to liquidate these assets for cash that will go to feed a white elephant, the $70.3 million budget of the school district.

“With $70.3 million in revenue, we are thinking to sell these properties to fix some holes at Emerson? Even with three parcel tax measures in force (Q, W, A), the school board has not reduced class sizes throughout the district. Wouldn’t it make sense to use these properties for new school facilities to really reduce class sizes? Excellence in education first but financial responsibility to taxpayers demands that as a trustee, I do not gamble with selling any taxpayer-owned property but use it for the benefit of education of our children.”

Next week: What happens if Propositions 30 and 38 and Measure E all fail at the polls on Nov. 6?

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