High School District Considers New Maintenance Fund

Trustees and administrators of the San Mateo Union High School District are considering creating a reserve fund to pay for long-term maintenance of buildings recently constructed through the use of bond money.

Discussion of the proposed fund took place during the school board's regular meeting last night at . The maintenance fund would largely be filled by contributions from the district’s general fund, according to a district report, and allocate money annually for maintenance costs.

Mark Jones, a member of the district’s Citizen Oversight Committee that monitors district spending of bond funds, implored the board and administration to approve the maintenance fund.

“We have significant concern that the funds will be used for other purposes” and not building maintainance, he said.

All told, the district will spend about $600 million in bond money through bond measures D and M, and administrators see the potential maintenance fund as a means to ensuring that the public’s investments are well cared for, according to the district report.

Much of the district’s infrastructure has been recently renovated and is under warranty for the next few decades, according to a report by facilities inspector Todd Lee, who visited all the district’s campuses.

Lee inspected elements of the district’s buildings that would demand large-scale maintenance such as hardwood floors, roofing, lighting and electrical systems, among other elements, and found most components to be in good shape.

Trustee Peter Handley said he agreed with the idea of establishing the new fund. When the district was campaigning in favor of the bonds, he said, critics accused the district of asking for money because it had not taken care of its facilities.

“We need to embed a culture of setting money aside,” said Handley. “I think I would like to see us adopt a plan and start to be dedicated to putting money toward it.”

But board president Stephen Rogers was hesitant to voice approval for the maintenance fund, and said the district could be facing harsh financial times depending on how the state’s voters react to Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal, which will have a big impact on education funding.

Gov. Brown is proposing that voters approve tax extensions in an effort to balance the state’s budget. Should the governor's proposal fail, it could mean billions of dollars worth of cuts to the state’s kindergarten through 12th grade education fund, which Brown is attempting to protect.

“We’re going to be in, according to the state, a difficult place with the general fund,” said Rogers. “We need to protect the general fund at all costs.”

Comments from trustee Dave Pine leaned toward creating the fund.

“It’s one of those things that seems obvious and intuitive,” he said. “It’s $600 million. We need to take care of it.”

But he also raised the possibility that the proceeds from the district’s pending sale of Crestmoor High School in San Bruno go toward paying into the fund, should its creation be approved. Superintendent Scott Laurence said the district administration would report back to the board about the feasibility of that suggestion.

Board members did not take action on creation of the fund last night, and will pick the discussion back up at a later date.

To see the full agenda of Thursday’s meeting, click here.