The Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s Board of Trustees is asking the city to pay up.
For nearly 14 years, the school district has given the city access to its school fields and facilities, including Polliwog Park and Begg Pool, during non-school hours as long as the city pays for maintenance and operation costs.
But with MBUSD’s budget last year ending in a deficit of $1.1 million and an anticipated loss in state funding, district officials are urgently looking for additional sources of revenue.
On the other hand, the city has been scrambling for space for its community programs, recreational classes, camps and special events. And, despite pleas from residents, prospects to build a new community pool have been thin.
That’s why city officials and district board members are contemplating a cooperative five-year master agreement that would give the city greater access to school fields and facilities, including the Mira Costa swimming pool during weekends, school breaks and summer. In exchange, the district would bill the city $500,000 annually and continue to require maintenance and operation.
Under the new proposal, the city would spend an annual sum of $1,664,225 for using and maintaining 14 district facilities, with about 23 acres of open space.
Superintendent Mike Matthews told the Manhattan Beach City Council and community members at a joint council/board meeting Monday that the proposal seeks to create a reasonable payment for both the city and the district.
“There’s no payment for lease at this point,” Matthews said. “What we’re looking for in this agreement is not fair market value. We’re asking for some compensation for the facilities that’s fair for our community.”
Mayor David Lesser, while expressing general support for “this type of proposal,” showed concern about whether the city could afford the additional costs in light of other issues he considered to be top priority. He explained that the city had planned to put this year’s surplus into capital improvement funds and said he personally prioritized ending the “revolving door” of losing part-time employees who don’t have benefits. He added that the city’s pension costs are anticipated to rise by 35 percent in the next few years, at an estimated cost of $1.7 million.
“I’m concerned how we can afford this at this time without slowly adopting it as our funds allow because if the surplus is lower than last year, as we’re expecting it to be, I just have concerns about how we can afford this,” Lesser said.
Finance Director Bruce Moe said the funding source for the additional payments to MBUSD has not yet been identified, but should council agree to move forward, it will be explored in the city’s budget workshops in May.
Mayor Pro Tem Amy Howorth, who for several terms served on the District Board of Trustees and is on the school board ad hoc committee, said “it’s about time” for an agreement like this to come to fruition. She urged council to not get caught up by the metrics of measuring return from the additional fee.
“You can’t really put a value on open space and healthy children,” Howorth said. “… We have to have a political will to put this in the city budget, I personally do, and I think the community is behind us.”
The City Council and the Board of Trustees will separately consider the agreement in upcoming meetings. If the proposal passes through the city’s budget process next month, Council will be in a position to formally adopt it in July, according to City Manager Dave Carmany.
