DISTRICT READIES BOND ISSUE $140 MILLION MAY GO ON 2006 BALLOT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - High school trustees have hired a financial consultant to help with the process of putting a $140 million bond measure before voters on the November 2006 ballot.

The Emeryville-based firm of Caldwell Flores Winters will assist the Antelope Valley Union High School District in navigating the requirements associated with the sale of bonds and obtaining a favorable rating on behalf of the district.

``It's to do the preliminary work on what needs to be put together for a bond,'' trustee Al Beattie said. ``It takes a period of time in order to be in a position before we start thinking of putting it on a ballot.''

The fees are $40,000 for pre-election services, $75,000 for each bond sale, and actual expenses incurred plus 10 percent, according to the terms of an agreement approved Wednesday by the board. All fees are contingent on the successful passage of the bond, a district staff report said.

``Fees are typically offset by savings gained by the reduction in interest rates attributable to better credit ratings obtained by the expertise and assistance of the (consultant),'' the report said.

``They help us do the calculative values that have to go into working with the bond issue. They interface with the bond writers. They become the cornerstone of the financial team,'' Deputy Superintendent Jeff Foster said.

High school district officials have announced their intent to pursue the bond to pay for construction of two more high schools and improve existing campuses. The board probably will make a final decision on whether to pursue the bond by spring or early summer next year.

The proposed bond would cost property owners about $30 per $100,000 assessed value of their homes or land, about the same amount they are paying now on a district bond passed by voters in 2002.

``It looks like we are going to need those schools and need them very soon,'' Beattie said.

District officials say housing construction in the Antelope Valley continues to grow at an aggressive pace. New housing starts are projected to be around 5,000 this year, they said.

By the time construction of the schools start, it is estimated they will cost $110 million to $120 million each. By contrast, Knight High School, which opened in 2003, cost about $76 million, and Eastside High, which is under construction, will cost about $100 million.

District officials hope that the cost of building the two schools will be covered by the bond measure, if it passes, along with state funds and developer fees.

One school is planned for southeast Palmdale and the other for west Lancaster in Antelope Acres or in southwest Palmdale's Ritter Ranch master-planned community.

Money from the $103.6 million bond issue approved by voters in March 2002 will be gone after the building of Eastside High, the district's eighth comprehensive high school.

Funds from the March 2002 bond measure also went toward building Knight High School, modernizing three high schools, and constructing three alternative campuses.

If district officials do decide to place a bond measure on the November 2006 ballot, they will try to pass it under Proposition 39, which requires only a 55 percent majority vote.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com