Del Mar School District board looking at several building purchase options to house headquarters

By Karen Billing

‘‘Happy times are here again’’ read the hopeful slide at the end of a power point presentation at the Del Mar Union School District's Feb. 24 special board meeting. The optimistic presentation showed several buildings the district is looking at purchasing to house the district’s headquarters.
Board president Comischell Rodriguez said the trustees may be able to begin making offers by the end of March. With purchasing a new building in their sights, the trustees voted to no longer discuss the proposals the 7/11 Committee submitted for using surplus space at one of the district campuses to be a permanent district office home. However, temporarily co-locating the district office at a school site remains an option if the board is not able to meet its May 2011 deadline to be out of the Shores property.
As the 7/11 Committee report was on the agenda, parents continued to object to co-locating the district office at any school, requesting that option be completely taken off the table. Ashley Falls parent Heidi Niehart’s frustration reached a boiling point during public comment.
“You are the board, we elected you, make a decision or get off the board!" Niehart shouted. "I am really fed up with this.”
Trustee Annette Easton said that there are still too many unknowns to limit themselves by completely removing the co-location option.
“The entire board shares the frustration that's in this room,” Easton said. “But we can't take co-location off the list because it potentially sends a false signal.”
“Our number one intent is not to co-locate,” echoed trustee Katherine White. “I personally don't want to co-locate but I'm uncomfortable with removing it because we don't know if we can stay on the (Shores) property and we don't know if we can buy.”
As the board discussed why they wanted to keep temporary co-location as an option, there were outbursts from several parents, one yelling "Resign now!"
The board looked at several property options for the new district office, presented by realtors Chuck Wasker and Mark Kagen. None of the price tags were disclosed but all options were said to be under the $8.5 million the district has from the sale of the Shores property.
“We have many opportunities and this is a wonderful time to [go after them],” Wasker said.
One option is a pair of buildings under the freeway on Sorrento Valley Road. They are not fully built out inside so additional funds would have to be used to do tenant improvements. Also, they are just outside the district boundaries so lawyers are still reviewing whether it will be possible to house the district offices there.
Another option discussed was a 2.3-acre slice of land on Jimmy Durante Boulevard in Del Mar. The land owner already has plans for a building approved and the district could opt to adapt the plans to make the building even smaller. Wasker said the one big issue with this option is that it would take about 18 months to construct the building, which would be difficult considering the district's tight timeline. Choosing this option might involve temporarily co-locating a district office at a school site if the Del Mar City Council does not approve extending the district’s lease at the Shores. Superintendent Sharon McClain is expected to ask the city for an extension at the council's March 8 meeting. If the lease were extended, rent on the facility would have to come out of the district's general fund.
President Comischell Rodriguez said one of the district’s best options is on Sorrento Valley Boulevard. It is a two-story, 20,000 square foot building that would house all of the district's needs and is already fully built out. On the second floor there is a large open space which can be used for meetings. It would be ready to move into without many tenant improvements, meeting the deadline. Trustee Katherine White did express some reservations about the space as she used to have employees work in a nearby building. She said due to the adjacent power lines, the computer terminals would sometimes shake and women hoping to get pregnant worried about the health risks associated with being so close to the power lines.
While some parents were vocal in their anger, others were hopeful about the "promising" property options for a new district home and said they hoped the board would act quickly.
"To me it's a no-brainer," said parent Cynthia Edgerly. "These buildings are perfectly acceptable and well within our budget. Buy a property, there's no reason not to."