BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1080
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1080 (Skinner)
As Amended May 14, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-1
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, | | |
| |Arambula, | | |
| |Buchanan, Carter, | | |
| |Solorio, Torlakson | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Miller | | |
| | | | |
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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;
d) Parameters are set for the degree and nature of the
joint ownership of the facilities, including a plan to
ensure pupil safety; and,
e) If the property is sold, the school district shall
retain from the proceeds of the sale, at the minimum, an
amount equivalent to any state school facilities bond funds
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received by the district.
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 EUSD. The facts
constituting the special circumstances that distinguish the
EUSD 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.
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
in partnership for six years on plans for the Emeryville Center
of Community Life (Center). 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:
1)A 7th through 12th grade middle and high school.
2)The Anna Yates Elementary School.
3)EUSD administration building.
4)Health, wellness, and social service center for students and
community members.
5)Art workshop and performance space for students and community
members.
6)Parenting center for students and community members.
7)Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities for students and
community members.
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8)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."
Current law establishes 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,
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 school districts to rent or lease vacant classrooms
or other space in 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.
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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 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 for grades kindergarten through grade 6 and
one secondary school for grades 7 through 12.
This bill authorizes the EUSD to, upon two-thirds vote of the
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, show that there is a
demonstrated need for the joint ownership, specify that the
joint ownership is compatible with the educational purposes of
the facilities, and show that parameters are set for the degree
and nature of the joint ownership of the facilities. In
response to concerns regarding student safety due to the
proposed community use of the facilities during school time, the
bill was amended in the Assembly Education Committee to require
the agreement to include a pupil safety plan. 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 master plan proposes to replace the existing building with
several three-story buildings that will house kindergarten
through grade 6 in one building and 7 through grade 12 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
co-sponsor, the City of Emeryville, the majority of the funds
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(60%) for construction of the facilities will come from local
redevelopment agency funds, local education bond and/or city
bond funds. The district also intends to apply for state
education bond funds through the Joint Use Facilities or New
Construction programs. To address potential concerns that state
bond funds may be redirected to non-education entities, the
author adopted a committee-suggested amendment to require the
district and the City of Emeryville to agree that should the
property be sold in the future, the district shall retain an
amount equivalent to any state bond funds received by the
district.
This proposed community/school project might be the first of its
kind in the state.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000831