District looks at how to pay for new facilities

By Jason Dietrich

The Redondo Beach School District has contracted with a San Francisco Bay Area consulting firm to determine the best way to fund the future needs of the school district. Dale Scott and Company has been hired to survey Redondo residents.

"We are trying to find out whether the community shares the district's views about the conditions of its facilities," said Dale Scott of Dale Scott and Company. If their research indicates that enough residents agree that more facilities are needed, they'll advise the district on ways to fund those projects.

"The district has undertaken a fairly in-depth analysis of the conditions of its facilities. Now they want to know what are the methods by which they can finance improvements. The primary method is to ask voters to approve the issuance of bonds and to supplement that with funding from the state," said Scott.

District staff had determined that they will need $80 million to meet the current and future needs of the school district, said former School Board member Zeke Zeidler who resigned recently. Both the district and Dale Scott and Company want to make sure that if they do put a bond in front of voters, that it has a good chance of passing, said Redondo Beach School District Assistant Superintendent Tom Cox.

"When you're trying to figure out how to come up with the financing or asking voters to approve financing, it takes a large amount of resources and time," said Scott. Contracting that effort out to professionals doesn't draw those resources from the school system.

Dale Scott and Company have acted as consultants for the Lawndale School District and Centinela Valley High School District. Both districts approved and passed bonds, said Scott.

In Redondo Beach, Dale Scott and Company will pay for the initial survey and analysis.

"If bonds are sold, they help sell the bonds and earn a fee like any other underwriters," said Cox. "At this point in time, the district doesn't spend any money of it's own. And Dale Scott and Company don't get paid at all if the board doesn't approve a bond."

Dale Scott and Co. plans to survey a number of Redondo residents by phone in next several months.

"We anticipate the survey being completed by early-summer. Of course it's still very early on, and the date is subject to change," said Scott. ER