Board makes choice for vote

Huntington Beach City School District board members have chosen a plan for four closed school sites to vote on at their next meeting. That plan would renegotiate leases with both private schools now on district land.

At a study session Tuesday night, board trustees all agreed to put one plan up for vote at their Feb. 19 meeting. That plan would have the district strive to renegotiate the existing leases with Christian private schools at the closed Gisler and Burke elementary sites.

It would sell the closed LeBard Elementary site, which now holds the district offices, and all board members said they wanted the city to buy it.

The closed and unoccupied Kettler Elementary site would be left alone to consider options.

Renegotiating leases with Huntington Christian School and Brethren Christian Junior/Senior High School doesn’t make things completely a done deal, board member Brian Rechsteiner said.

“We still have to come to an agreement,” he said. “And if we can’t, then where do we go? I hate people to leave this meeting thinking, ‘Oh, on the 19th they’re going to vote, and the way they’re leaning now, they want to renew the lease, and so we’re home free.’”

Even so, supporters of keeping the leases clapped when the course of action was announced.

Brethren Principal Rick Niswonger had said at the beginning of the meeting that waiting much longer on the fate of his school was becoming a problem.

“The uncertainty is difficult,” he said. “It does impact our enrollment. We need to add at least 120 students each year.

“We’ve had to hire someone to try to accomplish that. ”

Though no votes were counted, it appeared the majority of the trustees swung to the option of trying to renew leases with both private schools and selling only one site.  

Board member Rosemary Saylor appeared to swing the consensus, saying she would have sold two sites if the real estate market hadn’t recently collapsed.

She joined Rechsteiner and Shirley Carey, both long-time advocates of keeping the leases and selling few sites, for a majority opinion.

Board President Celia Jaffe said she had big reservations about the plan, which she said didn’t raise enough money to get major projects done.

In addition to finding new district offices — still a possibility — these include improvements on some schools, paying off debt, and moving bus facilities off the Dwyer Elementary School campus, she said.

“So we’re giving up on some of our main goals,” she said.

Saylor disagreed.

“I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t decide on this now, then in two or three years when the market’s back up we might revisit selling another site,” she said.

The board will vote on the proposal Feb. 19 at its regular meeting at the district offices, 20451 Craimer Lane.