Calabasas compensated for loss of new school
City receives $7.8 million after elementary campus is nixed
By Joann Groff  joann@theacorn.com

The city of Calabasas announced it received almost $8 million from a developer for a new elementary school that will not be built. Now, Las Virgenes School District officials say they aren't sure whether another campus is even needed.

The money came from New Millennium Homes as part of a December 2004 agreement to compensate the district for the loss of a potential school site within the developer's gated Oaks of Calabasas subdivision.

In the early 1990s, the original builder of the Oaks, Baldwin Co., was required to provide land for a school within the development. But the company went bankrupt in 1997, and when New Millennium Homes, Inc. took over the project, its new residents decided they didn't want a school within their gated community.

The $8-million settlement agreement came as the result of discussions involving the district, the city and various homeowner associations. The school district agreed not to put a campus inside the development.

New Millennium Homes had three years to pay the settlement, but because it only took two, the company was allowed to pay $200,000 less, bringing the total payout to $7.8 million. Half the money was paid outright from New Millennium, the other half was gained from sales of the homes the city allowed the company to build on the land previously set aside for a school.

"The board of education has a facilities committee and they have begun the process of looking into what we need to do," Deputy Superintendent Don Zimring said. "Do we need to develop a ninth elementary school? . . . If this were eight years ago, then I'd say, absolutely." He said the committee would study the issue throughout the school year.

The district has seen declining enrollment at some schools, while others have had an increase. Zimring said that at this point, committee members just aren't sure what the district needs--a new primary school, a magnet school, or neither. He also said the committee would discuss whether to acquire a site or expand an existing one if a new school is determined to be needed.

According to the agreement, if the district decides another school isn't necessary, then the $7.8-million settlement is to be split between the city and the school district.