By Hannah Parker
Online News Editor
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District began determining a district wide bond’s feasibility at the MBUSD Board of Trustees meeting.
According to MBUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews, the Facilities Master Plan will narrow down what the bond will invest in. In finance, a bond is a debt investment in which money is loaned. The process to create the bond began with the construction of the FMP completed on July 9.
“The FMP details the needs and desires of each school in terms of safety, educational excellence, and desired improvements. In order to have any of the ideas come to fruition, funding will be necessary and a bond would provide that funding,” Matthews said.
The district took the next step in the process of forming the bond on Dec. 9 by selecting political strategist firm Tramultola from three candidates for the bond feasibility consultant position. According to MBUSD Board President Ellen Rosenberg, the consultant will work specifically with districts and other municipal entities to determine the specific bond measures. The consultant will also team with a polling company in order to determine the feasibility of the bond.
“This bond is necessary because some parts of the district have sadly not been touched in decades and all campuses and students deserve improvements,” Rosenberg said.
According to Rosenberg, the district will conduct a bond feasibility study throughout the year to prioritize and poll the community. This process will go until June at the latest and will determine the community’s desires regarding campus improvements and their preferable budget.
“In the ideal world, we would be able to fund all the improvements listed in the FMP,” Rosenberg said. “However, that is not realistic and instead we have to identify the communities interest and the upper most dollar amount they are willing to spend. Once we are able to find this intersection, we are able to create a bond that will hopefully please the community and will get approved.”
According to Rosenberg, the final step of passing the bond and enacting its improvements will be completed by campaigning for the bond, attaining through private funds to fund the campaign, as MBUSD cannot legally fund a campaign, so private funds are essential. Rosenberg said that the district intends to include Mira Costa High School in the proposal, however the district will prioritize what the community wants.
“This is why we need a broad base of the community involved,” Rosenberg said. “Costa students and parents should be involved because they have the closest identification with Costa and know what needs to be done there. They should want their voice heard so Costa’s improvements can be included in the bond.”
According to Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale, the primary desire for Costa is turning Fisher Gym into an athletic complex with team rooms, study spaces, and space for multiple sports under the ballot. Dale also said that the administration wants to include renovations for the humanities buildings and the areas near the wood shop for modern sciences.
“Fisher gym is in need of renovations although it has been a great gym and is iconic throughout the South Bay,” Dale said. “Additionally, I would like to be able to give the English buildings and the library a renovation similar to the new math and science building. Those buildings have become old and are deserving of renovations.”
The FMP totals to approximately $300 million, but according to Rosenberg, that number greatly exceeds the bond capacity. Because of this, immediate $2 million maintenance will be the first renovation of the FMP. These district determined needs include the renovation of Grandview Elementary buildings and the repair of a leak in the Costa gym.
“At the base level, our job as a district is to enhance each and every student’s learning experience,” Rosenberg said. “Although immediate maintenance will go first, we will primarily be making improvements that the public deems necessary and that directly improve the students’ educational process.”
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