BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1080
Page A
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1080 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
SUBJECT : School facilities: rent or lease
SUMMARY : Authorizes the governing board of the Emery Unified
School District (EUSD) to, upon a two-thirds vote, enter into a
joint-use, joint ownership agreement with a governmental agency
to construct a new school and community services facility on
land owned by the school district. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the joint-use, joint ownership agreement to specify
all of the following:
a) The school district shall retain full ownership of the
land upon which the facilities are constructed;
b) There is a demonstrated need for the joint ownership of
the facilities;
c) The joint ownership of the facilities shall be
compatible with the educational purposes of those
facilities; and,
d) Parameters are set for the degree and nature of the
joint ownership of the facilities.
2)Specifies that the space and use limitations of Education Code
(EC) Sections 17531 and 17532 do not apply to facilities
constructed under an agreement entered into pursuant to this
bill.
3)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the unique circumstances of the Emery Unified
School District. The facts constituting the special
circumstances that distinguish the Emery Unified School
District from other school districts are the high degree of
integration between the community and educational services of
the joint-use facilities to be constructed pursuant to this
legislation.
AB 1080
Page B
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to rent or
lease vacant classrooms or other space in operating school
buildings to other school districts, educational agencies,
except private kindergarten through grade 12 educational
institutions, governmental units, nonprofit organizations,
community agencies, professional agencies, commercial and
noncommercial firms, corporations, partnerships, businesses,
and individuals, including during normal school hours if the
school is in session.
2)Specifies that the governing board shall give first priority
for leasing or renting vacant space to educational agencies
for conducting special education programs and second priority
to other educational agencies.
3)Specifies that the amount of classroom space leased in any
schoolsite during normal school hours shall not exceed 45% of
the total classroom space of that school, and during normal
school hours, no more than 30% of the district's total
classroom space in operating schools. Authorizes the
governing board to, upon a two-thirds vote, enter into lease
agreements which exceed the 45% limit per school upon making a
finding that the leases are compatible with the educational
purpose of the school, as long as the total space leased does
not exceed the 30% limit for the entire district.
4)Authorizes the governing board to lease vacant classroom space
which exceeds the 30% district wide limit if the lease is for
any day care center, nursery school, or special education
class.
5)Specifies that the term of any leased agreement shall not
exceed five years and payments shall not be less than fair
market rental for comparable facilities, except that
agreements with public entities can be for less than fair
market rental for comparable facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill
is non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the author, the City of Emeryville, the
EUSD, and the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce have been working
AB 1080
Page C
in partnership for six years on plans for the Emeryville Center
of Community Life. The Center will be a joint-use facility that
provides educational and community oriented services to students
and community members throughout the entire day, including the
following:
The Emery Secondary School Campus, a 7th through 12th
grade middle and high school.
The Anna Yates Elementary school campus.
EUSD administration building.
Health, wellness, and social service center for students
and community members.
Art workshop and performance space for students and
community members.
Parenting center for students and community members.
Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities for students
and community members.
Teen afterschool programs to promote public safety.
The author states, "The goal of the Center is to become a truly
integrated facility that shares space resources across programs
and agencies, breaking down unnecessary facility constraints and
serving as a model for urban community development. The
objectives of schools, city agencies, county agencies, and
non-profit organizations increasingly overlap through community
programming and constructing integrated, joint-use facilities is
the ideal way to recognize and expand the opportunities for
collaboration."
AB 1080
Page D
Current law has two joint-use programs. The Joint Use
Facilities Program provides $1 million for elementary, $1.5
million for middle, and $2 million for high school joint-use
facilities, in partnership with governmental agencies, public
community colleges, public colleges or universities, or
nonprofit organizations approved by the State Allocation Board
(SAB), for the construction of a multipurpose room, gymnasium,
child care facility, library, or teacher education facility.
The program requires a local match of 50%, with at least 25%
from the joint use partner, unless the district has proposed to
fund the project through a local bond initiative.
The other joint use provisions of law (EC 17527 et seq.)
authorizes districts to rent or lease vacant classrooms or other
space in operating school buildings to other school districts,
educational agencies, except private kindergarten through grade
12 educational institutions, governmental units, nonprofit
organizations, community agencies, professional agencies,
commercial and noncommercial firms, corporations, partnerships,
businesses, and individuals, including during normal school
hours if the school is in session. The rent or lease of
facilities is limited to 45% of the total classroom space of
that school during normal school hours, and no more than 30% of
the district's total classroom space in operating schools,
unless the rent or lease is for any day care center, nursery
school, or special education class. Existing statute also
limits the term of the rent or lease to no more than five years.
Current law is silent on the co-ownership of facilities.
The author states that this bill is necessary because current
law is based on a traditional joint use model, and doesn't allow
for stronger co-partnership/ownership and multifaceted use of
facilities. The author explains that the Center of Community
Life has a unique vision of facility and program integration.
The programs that will be offered at the Center require a
facility that allows for the flexibility to integrate school,
city, and agency uses, creating a one-stop center for the urban
community.
EUSD is a small school district located in Emeryville in Alameda
County with an enrollment of 815 pupils. There is currently one
elementary school and secondary school for grades 7 through 12.
This bill authorizes the EUSD to, upon two-thirds vote of the
AB 1080
Page E
governing board, enter into a joint-use, joint-ownership
agreement with a governmental agency constructed on land owned
by the school district. The bill requires the joint-use,
joint-ownership agreement to specify that the school district
shall retain full ownership of the land, to show that there is a
demonstrated need for the joint ownership, that the facilities
will be compatible with the educational purposes of the
facilities, and that parameters are set for the degree and
nature of the joint ownership of the facilities. The bill also
exempts the district from the provisions of law under the joint
use program limiting the amount of space that can be rented or
leased to an outside entity during normal school hours. It is
unclear whether the space used by the community resource center
will exceed the limitations.
The site of the Center is the existing secondary school campus.
The proposed master plan proposes to replace the existing
building with several three-story buildings that will house
kindergarten through grade 6 in one building and 7th through
grade 12th in another building. Three other buildings will
house the district administrative offices, multipurpose room and
the community resource center. The Center will also include a
performing arts center, and sports/recreation fields. According
to the sponsor, the City of Emeryville, the majority of the
funds (60%) for construction of the facilities will come from
local redevelopment agency funds, local education and/or city
bond funds. The district also intends to apply for state bond
funds through the Joint Use Facilities or New Construction
programs. This proposed community/school project might be the
first of its kind in the state.
Pupil safety . Since 1999, when two high school students killed
12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others before
committing suicide at Columbine High School in Colorado, school
safety has been a major concern in schools across the country.
New schools are frequently built with fencing around the
perimeters to prevent public entry. School safety is part of
the ongoing discussions between the EUSD, the City of
Emeryville, and the community. However, it is still unclear
whether the school areas will be locked to the public or whether
there will be intermingling between students and the public when
students leave their building to utilize the community resource
centers or to go to other parts of the campus, such as the
recreation fields or the performing arts center.
AB 1080
Page F
Staff recommends specifying that the requirement in Section
17535.5 (a)(4) includes an agreed upon plan to ensure the safety
of the students, in light of the joint community use of the
schoolsite, which increases the number of the public entering
the campus.
Staff also recommends specifying in the agreement that should
the district applies for and receives state bond funds for the
construction of the facilities, that in the event the property
is sold, an equivalent amount in state bond funds received by
the district shall be retained by the district.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087