$9.8 MILLION NEEDED FOR MOJAVE SCHOOLS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

In anticipation of putting a tax before voters next year, Mojave Unified School District officials have identified more than $9.8 million worth of needed improvements to buildings and grounds.

Among the problems are crumbling asphalt on playgrounds, an electrical system too weak to accommodate computers and other classroom technology at Mojave High School, and a jampacked cafeteria at Robert P. Ulrich Elementary School.

``We are going to discuss it and look at the merits and see if we have any suggestions. Then we will decide whether to go out for a bond or a parcel tax,'' school board President Richard Hall said. ``It's the minimum we can get by with without allowing the schools to deteriorate any further than they already have.''

The board will meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the California City Middle School multipurpose room, 9736 Redwood Blvd. to discuss the list of improvements. No vote is scheduled to take place.

Superintendent Ed Baldwin said the board will likely vote on a proposed parcel tax in January.

The board in May had rejected Hall's proposal to build a high school in California City as part of a proposed $55 million parcel tax. Two weeks later, the board decided to table discussion of putting any tax on the November ballot in favor of comprehensively assessing needs.

The board directed the district staff to confer with administrators at each school and to report back on proposed improvements to buildings and grounds to form a basis for calculating the amount of a parcel tax.

Of the district's seven schools, the estimated cost of improvements at Ulrich Elementary was the highest at nearly $5.3 million, the bulk of which was $4 million to replace all relocatable classrooms and buildings with a permanent structure, records show.

Other items were $400,000 to expand the multipurpose room and $200,000 to replace asphalt play areas with concrete.

At Mojave High School, school administrators have requested nearly $2 million in improvements, including $350,000 to match state funds for more classrooms, $200,000 to add electrical power, $200,000 to build a cafeteria annex, $200,000 to recondition the school track and put in a grass infield, and $100,000 to replace the Mustang gym floor.

Improvements called for at Mojave Elementary School total $1.6 million, including $400,000 to replace asphalt play areas with concrete and to replace the kindergarten area parking lot asphalt, $300,000 for reroofing buildings, and $100,000 for a grass play field, records show.

At Joshua Middle School, the cost of improvements totaled $240,000, including $100,000 to replace asphalt play areas with concrete.

At California City Middle School, the estimated cost of improvements was $219,000, including $100,000 for an asphalt or concrete surface for bus parking.

At Mountain View School, the improvements totaled $126,000, including $100,000 for a paved parking lot.

At Red Rock Elementary School, facility improvements came to $73,000, including $20,000 to replace asphalt play areas with concrete and $10,000 to modernize restrooms.

District officials said the district's needs include enlarging the cafeteria at Ulrich Elementary, which was built in the 1960s for 400 pupils but now serves about 1,000. The school also has 17 or 18 relocatable classrooms for which the lease is about to expire.

Mojave High School, built in 1954 and expanded in 1956, has an electrical system that is inadequate for classroom computers and other education technology, officials said. Asphalt at all schools in the district is patched and uneven.

Hall's plan for a California City high school drew heavy opposition from Mojave residents because it called for converting Mojave High into a middle school. About 70 to 80 percent of Mojave High School's enrollment comes from California City.

Under the parcel tax proposed by Hall, based on the 70,000 parcels in the district, officials had estimated that residents would pay about $80 per parcel per year over a 10-year period.