CARE tries to fund projects without going ballot route

By Scott Pesznecker
MERCED SUN-STAR
November 24, 2004

Merced County schools need help now.

That's the message a group of educators is trying to spread to anyone who will listen, including the county's Board of Supervisors and area city councils, urging those who govern to take the schools into account when it comes to local development.

The group, Coalition of Advocates Regarding Education, is made up of superintendents and board members from most of the county's school districts.

Group members say the schools won't have room for the 28,000 students projected to arrive in the next 15 years without expansions and improvements.

But by exploring funding options other than school bond measures, which are not guaranteed to pass, it's not too late to prevent the problem.

One idea is to ask developers to pay more in school fees -- costs they pass on to homebuyers, many of whom will be introducing their own children into the already crowded districts.

"We're not opposed to growth," said CARE member Andree Soares, president of the Los Banos Unified School District board. "We're opposed to growth that doesn't pay its own way."

Merced County's population 15 years from now is projected to be 338,000, a 60 percent increase.

The county might need at least a dozen new schools to accommodate those students, CARE members told county supervisors last week.

However, schools aren't cheap. An elementary school costs between $12 million and $16 million; it costs between $25 million and $40 million for a middle school; and between $40 million and $85 million to build a high school.

Increased developer fees can cover some of those costs.

For example, the Los Banos Unified School District struck a deal with Ranchwood Homes two weeks ago for the development firm to pay an extra $17 million for its Los Banos projects -- money that will go to schools.

The school district is negotiating similar deals with other developers.

CARE board member Lee Andersen, Merced County's superintendent of schools, said such agreements benefit developers and school districts.

"They understand their homes are not going to be attractive for sale if the schools are severely overcrowded," Andersen said.

CARE helped planners and developers reach similar deals when the coalition formed 12 years ago, and Andersen said CARE's efforts are partly responsible for the construction of Buhach Colony and Golden Valley high schools.

Back then, Merced and Atwater were experiencing growth similar to today's.

The group was only active for a couple of years, having done its job at the time.

But now CARE is back together.

"The mission of our group is to provide the public with information, not to negotiate," Andersen said.

But awareness affects negotiations, Soares said.

"Right now, we're really in the phase of an awareness campaign," she said, "making sure our community leaders are well aware of what we see as the largest crisis to face the county in a long time."