District trustees: Where did the money go?

Seven months after the state froze funding that would have paid for Galt's new Liberty High School, Galt high school district trustees want answers.

Four new construction projects — including two at the new Liberty Ranch High School former Superintendent Tom Gemma said would be complete by the fall opening — to be paid for with state 1D modernization grants have been stuck in the funding process since December.

At their regular meeting Tuesday, board members plan to ask why the state-imposed Dec. 17 deadline was not met. Trustees also want to know if and when the state funding becomes available, will the district have enough matching money to move forward with construction?

What's the delay?

When the state's Pooled Money Investment Board decided to stop financing infrastructure projects throughout California, the district took one of the biggest immediate hits and stood to lose $9 million in construction loans at the time.

The news left officials trying to determine what effect the decision would have on its projects. Those include a new agricultural careers academy and health careers academy at Liberty Ranch, as well as modernization of Galt High buildings that house the mechanics and pre-engineering and manufacturing programs.

At the June 30 meeting during budget discussions, trustees came up with a list of questions for those in the district tasked with overseeing the construction. Two of those staff members, however, are no longer employed at the district. Regardless, the board has asked Chief Business Official Audrey Kilpatrick to come up with timelines from all parties involved, including members of the bond oversight committee.

A report will be heard Tuesday, and board president Terry Parker-Owning hopes the answers will be clearer. She said the district has been receiving regular updates, but did not elaborate.

"It is complicated and ever-changing," she added in an e-mail.

How did the district get here?

Construction of the district's new school has been moving steadily — on budget and on time — and is still scheduled to open in the fall to ninthand tenth-graders only in the beginning. It will help alleviate overcrowding at the aging Galt High School.

A bulk of the new school has been paid for with proceeds from a voter-approved bond and a unique lease-lease back program with the developer, but the sum comes from state grants.

In an e-mail days after the Dec. 19 state announcement, Gemma said there were enough funds to get Liberty Ranch construction through the next few months, but after that, he said he didn't have enough information to comment on the issue.

Trustees voted a week earlier to put the agriculture portion of the project out to bid. It is unclear how much of the funding needed to complete Liberty Ranch was to come from state grants.

In January, Gemma said the agricultural program could start at Galt High School since there was no money at this time to finish constructing the building at Liberty Ranch.

One of the holdups may be the bureaucracy of the state's Treasury Department. The state's allocation board had already promised Galt the money, but the Pooled Money Investment Board would not release it.

Meanwhile, the district continued to receive regular updates from the state with hopes of moving the project along. Despite the funding freeze, local officials sent a final plan approval to the California Department of Education in March and additional documentation to OPSC.

Trustees feel there are gaps, however, in the timeline created by Darlene Waddle at the request of the board. She was hired as the district's on-site Liberty Ranch construction consultant, but the money to fund her position ended June 30.

Gemma announced his retirement from the district in mid May.

Why have there been repeated project delays?

The state's funding freeze wasn't the first time this project hit a snag. In summer 2007, the district discovered a $8.9 million budget shortfall for the new high school based partly on overestimating state funding and partly due to a misunderstanding with funding qualifications.

At the time, Gemma emphasized that he did not wish to blame anybody for the breakdown in communication, and said the district would adjust to any further bumps in the road regarding funding for the high school.

Shortly after that, the board approved the application to apply for the grant currently in question by the state.

"As we look at this, it's really to learn from it," Trustee Diann Kitamura said at last week's meeting. "I mean, what can we do?"

In the end, Parker-Owning said the district may actually save money since construction prices have dropped with the slump in the economy.

The Galt Joint Union High School District meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Galt City Council Chambers, 380 Civic Drive.

1D modernization grants at a glance

California offers districts a number of grants. State 1D modernization grants, passed by voters in 2006, are set aside for vocational-related programs and related construction, and require a 50-50 match with districts.

Source: Galt Joint Union High School District

Reader Feedback

Vickster wrote on Jul 13, 2009 11:35 AM:

" Whoa....CDE Final Plan approval should have been initiated long before construction has come to an end. The OPSC application should have been submitted as soon as CDE approval was given. If the project has been approved at the SAB, then all is good. Sounds like someone has not completed proper paperwork. OPSC won't accept apps without CDE approval. There is no way the State Allocation Board approved the project if the District is still sending additional documentation.
"Meanwhile, the district continued to receive regular updates from the state with hopes of moving the project along. Despite the funding freeze, local officials sent a final plan approval to the California Department of Education in March and additional documentation to OPSC." Interesting.... "

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Pat Maple wrote on Jul 11, 2009 1:49 PM:

" What an asinine answer: "I mean, what can we do?" "Construction prices have dropped?"??? F&H has priority to the project...at the price they quoted you.
Where the money went was into all of your changes...to the tune of about $5M for a new Ag Taj Majal at LRHS. $1M of that going to architects, consultants, fees and equipment. I remember a big mouth on your Board complaining about $6M for the entire project...you spent $1M for ONE building!!!

Delays? Who created the delays??? The Board!!! With all of their changes. Each change has to be researched and approved by OPSC and DSA as well are your architects and contractors..you are idiots!

The BULK of the school is finished...???how about the Ag Taj Mahal, the stop lights at Twin Cities Rd, the westside sidewalks, the sewer completion, the annexation, the football stadium and other fields and a few other major projects? You have spent your reserves, robbed Mello Roos and the maintenance budgets and borrowed from the 1D funds that you will not get. Wholly cow! "

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