CLASS BEGINS IN NEW CENTER DISTRICT TO FOOT BILL FOR PARKING AREA.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The Palmdale School District opened its controversial center for remedial classes in a converted drugstore Wednesday after reaching a $387,000 settlement with four neighboring property owners.

The agreement included the district's $250,000 purchase of part of a vacant parcel from one set of property owners - for use as a parking lot - and paying $137,000 to Stater Brothers for parking lot improvements to make it safer for students.

``We would have preferred not to pay the $250,000, but we couldn't see jeopardizing what that building could do for at-risk kids to save $250,000,'' Superintendent Nancy Smith said.

The district bought the former Payless store at 47th Street East and Avenue S in June 1999.

District officials originally planned to use the store for a Head Start preschool, but those plans were derailed when neighboring property owners filed lawsuits in 1998 against the project and a judge ruled the environmental process was faulty.

Now it will be used as the Pueblo Learning Center, a school for students in the fifth through eighth grades who perform poorly on standard state exams or are otherwise in danger of flunking.

The board voted 3-2 two weeks ago to approve the settlements but only announced it at Tuesday night's board meeting after all the parties had signed off on the agreements.

The dissenting votes were cast by trustees Sheldon Epstein and Fred Thompson.

Epstein, while praising the project for the services it will provide, was critical of the payment to James Costanzo and Robert Lewis, who own two vacant parcels in the shopping center complex.

Under the agreement the district will buy part of one of the lots and turn it into a parking lot for use by customers. The district can't sell it because the district is not allowed to own property for profit, Smith said.

Costanzo and Lewis will enlarge the other lot to put a bigger building on it, Smith said.

``Because we are not supposed to be involved in real estate dealing, the solution is we will pave that and just make parking spaces. We are paying $250,000 of taxpayer money for a building pad that we are going to pave,'' Epstein said. ``I can't believe the district would give that type of money to someone who was speculating in land values. It's probably the biggest giveaway since the Oklahoma land rush.''

Epstein said $250,000 could be used to pay for 17,500 library books, 5,000 text books, 500 musical instruments, 14 fully equipped playgrounds, or 22,700 hours of instructional aide hours.

Thompson said he thought the settlement was a waste of taxpayer money. ``I thought it was a terrible waste of taxpayer money and an exorbitant expense. We bought this property and will pay to have it paved over. This property is nowhere near the center,'' Thompson said.

But trustee Tom Lackey said he considered the settlement a fair deal.

``The district is in dire need of facilities. The fee was a considerable cost. It was still a fair deal considering what we were getting out ot it, an entire school for remediation,'' Lackey said. ``The money had already been expended, and we needed to get this facility open so kids can be the beneficiaries.''

Smith said the total cost of the project is more than $3.8 million, which includes the $3.1 million purchase of the store, $320,000 in legal fees, $250,000 payment for the property, $137,000 in parking lot improvements, and about $60,000 in construction change orders.

That figure does not include nearly $3 million in interest payments on a 23-year loan for the site purchase.

Under the agreement, the district will pay Stater Brothers to restripe the parking lot, install barriers, and erect a ramp for the handicapped. Stater Brothers will also be in charge of property maintenance.

The owners of a dry-cleaning business agreed to allow the district to open the center in exchange for the district agreeing not to use it for parking within a certain distance of the business' entrance, Smith said.

``The piece we buy will increase parking for their business,'' Smith said.

The owner of the Texaco gas station signed the agreement without extracting any payments or concessions from the district.

The project has been criticized for its expense, most recently by some parents who opposed the district's change from a five-track year-round schedule to a three-track system to house more students.

The project also is mentioned in the list of accusations in a recall campaign against Lackey, board President Larry Logsdon and trustee Velma Trosin.