DISTRICT LAND MAY BE SOLD AVUHSD PANEL TO SEE IF PROPERTY IS SURPLUS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - The Antelope Valley Union High School District has formed an advisory committee that will examine nearly 100 acres of vacant district property and recommend whether any should be declared surplus.

Charged with reviewing enrollment projections and other data, the committee was formed after inquiries were made by another school district and a business owner interested in buying unused land, board members said.

``There are parcels of land within the district that are smaller than a potentially buildable high school site. So the district has to form a committee to review that, what each piece should be used for, hold public meetings, get input, and make a recommendation to the board on what to do with those parcels,'' trustee Al Beattie said. ``We can't sell any property without going through this process.''

The district owns vacant parcels that range in size from about 70 acres in the stalled Ritter Ranch housing development in west Palmdale to about one acre adjacent to Antelope Valley High School. School officials said they don't expect to get rid of the Ritter Ranch property.

The district also owns 25 acres south of Rancho Vista Boulevard between 30th Street West and Avenue O-8 that the Westside Union School District wants to buy for a middle school site.

The owner of an ice cream distributor had asked the district to sell him the small strip of land between his business and Antelope Valley High School for a parking lot.

State law requires the district to convene a committee to develop a policy on the use of surplus real property before it can be sold or leased, a district staff report said.

The board appointed 10 people to the committee at its June 25 meeting.

The land must be declared surplus before it can be sold, and property must first be offered to public entities, such as government agencies and school districts, before private parties, officials said.

Beattie said any money made from selling surplus land can't be used for general education purposes, but can be used for building schools or acquiring other land.

The district at one point considered using the 25 acres along Rancho Vista Boulevard for a small high school for top academic performers, but then decided it couldn't build a small school and still offer a comprehensive program, officials said.

The land was acquired in the early 1990s, said Larry Freise, coordinator of attendance and special projects.

The 70 acres in Ritter Ranch is for a high school that would serve the planned 7,200-home development, but that project has been stalled since the 1990s in bankruptcy and legal procedures.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com