School Officials Defend IB Program, Discuss Failure to Secure Tenant for 320 Knob Hill Ave. Property

The Redondo Beach school board held a community meeting Wednesday at Parras Middle School to discuss the looming . Board members ended up speaking on several topics, including the latest deal falling through with the surplus property at 320 Knob Hill Ave., and how they plan to sway North Redondo kids from attending Mira Costa High School.

About 20 residents showed up to hear Superintendent Steven Keller say that the district’s budget faces either a $160,000 shortfall, or as much as $3.4 million, depending on whether state tax extensions are approved by voters in June.

Steve Goldberg, whose children attend the district’s schools, questioned whether the board should support the International Baccalaureate diploma program coming to Redondo Union High School for the 2012 school year at a cost of $100,000 to $150,000 while also planning for another round of staff cuts.

“How do you reconcile new programs with telling people they can’t go to work?” Goldberg said. “In my household, if we’re in a budget crisis and I’m in trouble, the last thing I do is go out and get a new color TV.”

The IB program would be offered in addition to the Advanced Placement courses already available, and district staff believes that the IB program is needed to attract students to Redondo Union, where student enrollment shrank last year by 50 students.

Every year, Redondo Union loses about 225 students to Mira Costa from what’s called the “area of choice” in North Redondo, officials said.

Board of Education member Todd Loewenstein said if 10 percent of those students choosing Mira Costa would switch to Redondo Union, the IB program would pay for itself since the state contributes $5,500 for each student who attends district schools. Officials said they have researched the issue and believe enough parents are interested in their children enrolling in the IB program.

“We believe it will be making money in the long run,” Loewenstein said.

Goldberg, like other parents who have spoken on the issue at other meetings, expressed skepticism that the program would trump the convenience of attending a nearby high school.

Ted Craddock of the Redondo Beach Education Foundation expressed hope that the foundation would be able to contribute to the district once again and save teacher jobs, as it did last year in saving two positions slated to be cut.

Craddock said only 13 percent of Redondo parents contribute to the education foundation. “Think what we could do with 40 percent involvement,” Craddock said.

Board of education members also said the deal to lease the former Patterson Elementary School at 320 Knob Hill Ave. to a developer has fallen through, leaving the district without a major tenant at the surplus property now that the city has moved its recreation department out.

The district had been receiving about $302,000 in rent for the property, but the city department moved to a cheaper location on Artesia; now the school district is receiving only $160,000 from Carden Dominion Preschool at the site.

The to lease the property to Mar Ventures development of Torrance fell through last week because of strong resident opposition to the plan for 100 affordable apartments in the already dense residential neighborhood as well as Measure DD, approved by voters in 2008, and requiring that major land use changes be approved by voters first, officials said.

“It’s back in the air and, we have no one right now,” said Board of Education member Jane Diehl.

“Real estate is pretty much our treasure," said Loewenstein, adding that the school district is unwilling to sell the property as the developer would like.

“We'll try to find suitable tenants,” Loewenstein said.

Money from selling real estate could not legally be used to pay for salaries anyway, school officials said.

This is the second prospective deal to fall through over a tenant for the property, with a start-up Christian high school, called Ambassador, funding for a long-term lease.

Jennifer Wonnacott, from Assemblywoman Betsy Butler’s office, said legislators are deciding whether to place on the June ballot the question of extending the temporary taxes, which, if approved, would mean a less severe budget shortfall for school districts throughout the state.