SUSD Committee Adjourns Meeting Due to Unruly Crowd
The meeting of the Saugus Union School District Asset Management Advisory Committee was adjourned after a large crowd reportedly became unruly during the public comment session.
The Asset Management Advisory Committee was held Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Santa Clarita Elementary School, which was closed at the end of the school year, June 7, 2024. Among the items on the meeting's agenda was a discussion on options for the future of the school site.
The school district issued the following statement:
"A very large group of community members attended this meeting in response to a social media post stating that a 'Low Income Housing Proposal was being presented to the public for the Santa Clarita Elementary School Site.'
The number in attendance exceeded the capacity of the meeting location. Public comment was moved outside, but that also proved not to be beneficial for the meeting of the committee. The meeting was adjourned."
The next scheduled meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee will be 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9 at a location yet to be determined.
"As a reminder, this process dictates that the committee receive information about all potential options for the property authorized by statute. After the committee has been informed, the committee will develop a draft recommendation report. This report is then circulated to the greater community to gather feedback through public hearings. After receiving public input, the committee may update the draft report before it is presented to the SUSD Governing Board," according to the press release distributed by SUSD.
More information about the committee and frequently asked questions can be found at www.saugususd.org/asset-management-advisory-committee .
SUSD issued the following information and timeline about the Asset Management Advisory Committee:
"The Saugus Union School District Governing Board established an Asset Management Advisory Committee on March 26. The purpose of the committee is to provide recommendations to the Governing Board regarding potential use options for the former Santa Clarita Elementary School property.
Pursuant to California Education Code section 17389, the committee must consist of at least seven but no more than 11 members from a list of candidates that submit written applications representing each of the following:
— The ethnic, age group, and socioeconomic composition of the district;
— The business community, such as store owners, managers, or supervisors;
— Landowners or renters, with preference to be given to representatives of neighborhood associations;
— Teachers;
— Administrators;
— Parents/guardians of students;
— Persons with expertise of environmental, legal construction, and/or land use planning, including, but not limited to, knowledge of the zoning and other land use restrictions of the city and county of Los Angeles in which surplus space and real property is located.
The application form was posted on the SUSD website and advertised in local newspapers to encourage individuals to apply.
At the June 25 Governing Board meeting, nine individuals from the Saugus Union community were appointed to the Asset Management Advisory Committee representing the required Education Code categories above.
This committee is an unpaid, volunteer position.
The California Education Code also outlines the role of the committee in section 17390. The Committee is responsible for the following:
— Review the projected school enrollment and other data as provided by the district to determine the amount of surplus space and real property;
— Establish a priority list of use of the surplus property that will be acceptable to the community;
— Cause to have circulated throughout the attendance area a priority list of the surplus property and provide for hearings of community input to the committee on acceptable uses of space and real property, including the sale or lease of the surplus property for childcare development purposes pursuant to Education Code section 17458;
— Make a final determination regarding the limits of tolerance of the surplus property;
— Forward to the District's Governing Board a report recommending uses of the surplus property.
The first meeting of the committee was held on July 22. During this meeting, the committee was presented with information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the Committee, provided with information about the property and the attendance area student projections, as well as a review of the Committee Bylaws.
Committee members were encouraged to ask questions so that they could be answered at the next meeting.
The second meeting of the committee was held on Aug. 7. The committee elected a chairperson and vice chairperson, received answers to their questions asked in the prior meeting, learned about the Brown Act and began learning about some of the potential surplus property alternatives available to school districts.
The third meeting of the committee was held on Sept. 18, at Santa Clarita Elementary School. The agenda for this meeting included continuing learning about other alternatives available to school districts with surplus property. Specifically looking at district employee housing options. Also on the agenda was a draft recommendation report.
The draft recommendation report item was on the agenda in response to members of the committee wanting to see a sample of the report required of them at the end of the process and that will be developed during the course of the upcoming Asset Management Committee meetings."
