District Seeking New Deal for Cell Towers at Santa Fe Middle School

With a long-term lease for cell towers at set to expire, the cash-strapped Monrovia Unified School District is looking at a deal bring in additional revenue from the towers.

A deal struck in 1986 between the district and a company that is now Verizon will expire in July, and school officials want to renegotiate the terms so that the towers bring in about $24,000 per year for the next five years, according to MUSD Chief Business Officer Connie Wu.

The proposal is the district is trying to implement as the state budget crisis continues to threaten its ability to operate.

"We would like to generate a ... leasing fee so it can help the district financially," Wu said.

The agreement, which will be considered by the School Board at Wednesday's regular meeting, would allow Verizon to continue to lease 2,500 square feet of space at Santa Fe for its cell towers, according to a report prepared by Jason Buchanan, the district's chief technology officer.

Verizon would pay the district $24,000 for the first year with an additional 4 percent tacked on in each additional year, according to Buchanan's report. The five-year agreement could be extended by three additional periods of five years for a total of 20 years.

The district is allowed to lease off space "which is not, or will not, be needed by the district for the school classroom buildings...," according to Buchanan's report.

The deal comes on the heels of a major development in the cell phone world. On Sunday, AT&T purchased T-Mobile for $39 billion from Deutsche Telekom, further consolidating the U.S. mobile phone business.