By Julie Sharp (Updated: Thursday, November 1, 2007 9:44 AM PDT)
Three candidates vying for two open seats on the Manhattan Beach School Board all agreed that leasing school property rather than selling it is the preferred way to lower the district's $1.3 million annual debt payment at a recent debate.
A timed question-and-answer forum arranged by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce Oct. 30 gave chamber members and others in the community a chance to ask the candidates their stance on a number of issues from reducing the debt to providing public transportation for children within the district. The afternoon event at the Fire and Police Station community room was attended by about 30 people.
The candidate pool for the Nov. 6 School Board election comprises one incumbent, Amy Howorth, and two other contenders, Bill Fournell and Les Silverman. Their approaches to minimizing the debt varied although their stance on retaining the surplus land unified them with Howorth veering off a bit by not wanting to eliminate the option to sell the land because she wanted to analyze all options available to the district.
Fournell served on the volunteer committee of community members that observed and analyzed the school-owned property over the last year as part of the duties of a 7-11 Committee member. He stated that the school land is underutilized and expressed that debt reduction is a priority.
“We can do better as a district. We need to improve our financial situation,” said Fournell. He cited the Montessori preschool leasing the district's property on the Ladera site, along Bell Avenue. “They would be interested in paying market rates if they had some certainty that they would be there for a period of time,” said Fournell. Certainty is financially valuable and he said they would even be willing to improve the classrooms and the overall site if they had more of a sense of permanency.
“We need to look at each property individually,” said Fournell. He also proposed that with long-term leases there could be larger up-front lease payments, which could reduce debt. Fournell also suggested that it may be time for the city of Manhattan Beach to adopt a parcel tax. “There may not be a lot of support for this, but it is something to look into,” said Fournell.
Howorth agreed that long-term leases with large up-front payments would be a desirable way to reduce debt. She was concerned about the Montessori preschool expanding its program, if given more space, to include kindergarten. “That would affect our district with ADA (average daily attendance) dollars. I would have to look at our schools, our students and our budget to make sure we are not cannibalizing our program and our budget,” said Howorth.
She stated that she is not as concerned with paying off all of the debt right away. “A debt payment of 2-1/2 percent of the total budget is really not a huge debt for people in business,” said Howorth. She said she was not sure if all the money accrued from lease arrangements should go to debt reduction; she would like some to go to the classrooms and school improvements, particularly at Mira Costa.
“It's about looking at your options, looking at strained resources and unlimited demand, and making the best possible choices available,” said Howorth.
Silverman stated that there are alternatives to selling the land. He suggested leasing the land would be the most desirable choice for reducing the debt. “At Ladera, there is a school out there that wants extra space. We have extra space,” said Silverman. “We could work with the city; they could build a new Begg pool and lease it from us.” He said this would benefit the middle school and the community. “This could generate funds. A strong school system keeps the city strong,” said Silverman. He also felt that the after-school programs could be expanded and generate more revenue for the district.
Answering the question of possible increased enrollment within the Manhattan School District, Howorth responded that most districts are facing declining enrollment. She said there are not a lot of new units being built in the city, but rather more remodeling going on. “The kindergarten does seem crowded, but it is not as big as the junior and senior classes at Mira Costa. Those were the real bubble years and it has dropped off,” said Howorth.
Silverman felt it was difficult to forecast enrollment. “So many people move to Manhattan Beach because of the schools, it is not just a question of the birth rate Š We have quality schools and that will attract more people,” said Silverman.
Fournell said enrollment is stagnant or declining from the data he has seen. He said that the number of permits to build within the city is about the same, and the population in Manhattan Beach has not fluctuated much.
Providing public transportation for the district was presented to the candidates and the consensus was that busing was good in theory especially for the middle and high school, but takes money. Fournell felt that busing deserved to be revisited. He cited the cost of one bus for 50 people is costly, and managing that cost would be the challenge for the district.
Silverman also stated he would like to see a bus service to eliminate some of the school traffic. “There are so many extra trips in such a small space, in such a small time,” said Silverman.
Howorth admitted that bus service would really benefit the middle school but would be financially challenging. “It's a real expense. It's a tough one, maybe the city could partner with us,” said Howorth.
Corporate sponsorship is welcomed by all candidates and Silverman elaborated on his previous comments regarding Chevron donating money to the district. “At one time I was concerned about Chevron Š there are moral issues in taking money,” said Silverman. He stated that Chevron owned Texaco, which was involved in a toxic dumping lawsuit and Silverman said he thought it was important that people knew this. “I said it was dirty money, but I was really implying that because it was toxic dumping,” said Silverman. He said that he has changed his thoughts on the matter, and would like to see Chevron actually give more financially.
“I want to thank the corporations; without them we would not be what we are,” said Howorth. Three candidates vying for two open seats on the Manhattan Beach School Board all agreed that leasing school property rather than selling it is the preferred way to lower the district's $1.3 million annual debt payment at a recent debate.
A timed question-and-answer forum arranged by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce Oct. 30 gave chamber members and others in the community a chance to ask the candidates their stance on a number of issues from reducing the debt to providing public transportation for children within the district. The afternoon event at the Fire and Police Station community room was attended by about 30 people.
The candidate pool for the Nov. 6 School Board election comprises one incumbent, Amy Howorth, and two other contenders, Bill Fournell and Les Silverman. Their approaches to minimizing the debt varied although their stance on retaining the surplus land unified them with Howorth veering off a bit by not wanting to eliminate the option to sell the land because she wanted to analyze all options available to the district.
Fournell served on the volunteer committee of community members that observed and analyzed the school-owned property over the last year as part of the duties of a 7-11 Committee member. He stated that the school land is underutilized and expressed that debt reduction is a priority.
“We can do better as a district. We need to improve our financial situation,” said Fournell. He cited the Montessori preschool leasing the district's property on the Ladera site, along Bell Avenue. “They would be interested in paying market rates if they had some certainty that they would be there for a period of time,” said Fournell. Certainty is financially valuable and he said they would even be willing to improve the classrooms and the overall site if they had more of a sense of permanency.
“We need to look at each property individually,” said Fournell. He also proposed that with long-term leases there could be larger up-front lease payments, which could reduce debt. Fournell also suggested that it may be time for the city of Manhattan Beach to adopt a parcel tax. “There may not be a lot of support for this, but it is something to look into,” said Fournell.
Howorth agreed that long-term leases with large up-front payments would be a desirable way to reduce debt. She was concerned about the Montessori preschool expanding its program, if given more space, to include kindergarten. “That would affect our district with ADA (average daily attendance) dollars. I would have to look at our schools, our students and our budget to make sure we are not cannibalizing our program and our budget,” said Howorth.
She stated that she is not as concerned with paying off all of the debt right away. “A debt payment of 2-1/2 percent of the total budget is really not a huge debt for people in business,” said Howorth. She said she was not sure if all the money accrued from lease arrangements should go to debt reduction; she would like some to go to the classrooms and school improvements, particularly at Mira Costa.
“It's about looking at your options, looking at strained resources and unlimited demand, and making the best possible choices available,” said Howorth.
Silverman stated that there are alternatives to selling the land. He suggested leasing the land would be the most desirable choice for reducing the debt. “At Ladera, there is a school out there that wants extra space. We have extra space,” said Silverman. “We could work with the city; they could build a new Begg pool and lease it from us.” He said this would benefit the middle school and the community. “This could generate funds. A strong school system keeps the city strong,” said Silverman. He also felt that the after-school programs could be expanded and generate more revenue for the district.
Answering the question of possible increased enrollment within the Manhattan School District, Howorth responded that most districts are facing declining enrollment. She said there are not a lot of new units being built in the city, but rather more remodeling going on. “The kindergarten does seem crowded, but it is not as big as the junior and senior classes at Mira Costa. Those were the real bubble years and it has dropped off,” said Howorth.
Silverman felt it was difficult to forecast enrollment. “So many people move to Manhattan Beach because of the schools, it is not just a question of the birth rate Š We have quality schools and that will attract more people,” said Silverman. Fournell said enrollment is stagnant or declining from the data he has seen. He said that the number of permits to build within the city is about the same, and the population in Manhattan Beach has not fluctuated much.
Providing public transportation for the district was presented to the candidates and the consensus was that busing was good in theory especially for the middle and high school, but takes money. Fournell felt that busing deserved to be revisited. He cited the cost of one bus for 50 people is costly, and managing that cost would be the challenge for the district.
Silverman also stated he would like to see a bus service to eliminate some of the school traffic. “There are so many extra trips in such a small space, in such a small time,” said Silverman.
Howorth admitted that bus service would really benefit the middle school but would be financially challenging. “It's a real expense. It's a tough one, maybe the city could partner with us,” said Howorth.
Corporate sponsorship is welcomed by all candidates and Silverman elaborated on his previous comments regarding Chevron donating money to the district. “At one time I was concerned about Chevron Š there are moral issues in taking money,” said Silverman. He stated that Chevron owned Texaco, which was involved in a toxic dumping lawsuit and Silverman said he thought it was important that people knew this. “I said it was dirty money, but I was really implying that because it was toxic dumping,” said Silverman. He said that he has changed his thoughts on the matter, and would like to see Chevron actually give more financially.
“I want to thank the corporations; without them we would not be what we are,” said Howorth.
Question: Redondo Beach residents are hotly debating the future of the pier and harbor area, contemplating changing the zoning in an effort to revitalize the area. * Will not changing the zoning inhibit growth in the area and is that OK?
* Does the pier and harbor area need revitalizing and new businesses?
* Could changing the zoning bring unprecedented and unwanted large developments?
from Archives: Manhattan Beach News 
