If passed in November, the Hermosa Beach school bond, worth $13.6 million, will give school officials some added money to buy land now occupied by Adelphia Cable to build a gym and new classrooms.

Although the district will earmark some of this bond money for such a deal, the acquisition will not make or break its plans to build new facilities or to modernize existing infrastructure if negotiations with the bankrupt company are fruitless.

“Acquiring the Adelphia property is one of many options in terms of site location,” said School Board member Cary Bichlmeier. “We will settle upon our options after the bond is in place. Buying the Adelphia site is not a stumbling block but sure, we would prefer it if the price is right.”

Some critics of the bond agree that the purchase of the Adelphia site would cost much more than the School District plans on allocating for its negotiations with the telecommunications corporation.

Shawn Moonan, a Hermosa Beach resident, authored an argument and rebuttal against Measure “J.”

“It’s going to be a much more expensive proposition than the School District has let on,” said Moonan. “It is not only going to be paying top money in this market for the land but it is also going to be paying to relocate a large technological facility.”

The School Board is pushing for a $13.6 million bond. If passed, the district will allocate $1.6 million from the bond and could receive $1.7 million from the California government from a $13.5 billion statewide bond, which would give it more than $3 million to buy the property. In the absence of state funds supplied through its bond, the district would then only have an estimated $1.6 million for the purchase.

John Isom, a consultant with the firm Caldwell, Flores and Winters which was hired by the School District to assist it with the bond, said the state-aid funds will put the district in a better position to negotiate with Adelphia.

“This bond will be sold in a series of bonds to provide the district with the flexibility to prioritize its projects,” said Isom. “The $1.7 million from the state does increase the district’s chances of buying the Adelphia site. Without the money, it does decrease its chances, but that’s OK too because the district will still build its classrooms and gym, and it will still go through with all of its modernization projects but just not on the Adelphia site.”

According to Isom, if the bond passes, the district will receive $9.6 million up front and is scheduled to receive $1.9 million in 2008 and $2.1 million several years later.

Isom asserted if the district’s negotiations with Adelphia span over three or four years, it will still be in a position to buy the property with its second series of bonds. Isom also added if the district does not receive state funding through Proposition 47, (Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002), in the amount of $1.7 million from November’s election, it will try again in March of 2004.

“Historically speaking, the last 16 out of 17 statewide bonds have passed,” said Isom. “The district will still be in a position to service its schools and it has a three-year window to spend the money after each issuance.”

If Adelphia rejects the School District’s offer, then it may either look into building a gym and new classrooms on either the south or north end of Valley School on a portion of the campus parking lots.

The School District may also explore its options related to eminent domain. This allows a public agency to reduce the rights of private entities when public use of space outweighs the value of private use. The school would still have to pay Adelphia the current market rate of the land in the case of eminent domain.

“An advisory committee of residents, parents, teachers and city officials studied the district’s facility needs and funding options for more than a year,” said Superintendent Duffy Clark. “It spent a lot of time on this, and to say the district has overlooked certain scenarios and alternatives is absolutely untrue.”

A $13.6 million bond will require taxpayers to pay an annual rate of $21 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. Recent bonds passed in Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and Redondo Beach are charging residents approximately $45 (two bonds passed in 1995 and 2000), $58 (two bonds passed in 1997 and 2001) and $13, respectively, per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

A new school gym would be the highest priced individual project, costing the district about $2.2 million, while new classrooms would come in at second with an estimated $1.9 million and the cost to modernize older classrooms would follow at slightly more than $1 million. About $3.5 million will pay for numerous improvements to Valley’s electrical, plumbing, air conditioning and heating systems, restrooms and other student facilities including technology labs.

Approximately $3.4 million would go to Hermosa View School for various modernization projects including restrooms, food service areas, older classrooms, and the upgrading and replacement of plumbing and electrical systems.

“Most of this bond is going toward improvements; 85 percent of it will go to refurbish our schools,” said Clark. “Our schools are 50 years old and they need renovation. This school bond is very modest compared to what nearby districts have passed.”