FOUNDATION TAKES IN $9.5 MILLION HART DISTRICT NONPROFIT ALSO UPS LAND HOLDINGS.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS 

Staff writer

SANTA CLARITA -- The nonprofit arm of the Hart school district made $9.5 million in profits during 2005-06 and increased its property holdings by about 70 percent, according to an audit released Friday.

The report was the second issued by the Santa Clarita Facilities Foundation in an effort to be more open with its public accounting, said Gary Condie, a foundation board member and certified public accountant.

Besides $9.5 million in profits, the foundation reported it increased land holdings from 115 acres to 195 acres, according to the audit.

The foundation was formed for the purpose of cutting red tape in acquiring land for new Hart Union High School District campuses. It has faced skepticism for its behind-the-scenes land purchases.

"From the very beginning we have tried to be open to the public, but it is possible we didn't use the best methods of communication," Condie said Friday.

"As a response to that criticism, we are trying to add different forms of communication, being more proactive and putting the information in people's hands."

The foundation purchased three plots of land last year, including 80 acres on the west side of Vasquez Canyon for $3.5 million and 12.5 acres near Sierra Highway and Vasquez Canyon Road for $960,000.

The third parcel, 250 acres in the Sierra/Vasquez corridor, was purchased after the cutoff date for the audit and will be included in the 2006-07 audit.

The foundation had sales totaling $15 million in 2005-06, but the net gains were reported at $9.5 million.

Most of the foundation's profits came from the sale of 17 acres to Centex Homes, which will develop residences next to Golden Valley High School.

Over an eight-year period the foundation has earned a total of $47 million, the report said.

Run by a seven-member volunteer board and a handful of paid consultants including former Hart Superintendent Robert C. Lee, the foundation buys land, makes improvements on its property such as roads and water lines, and then sells it for profit.

Its main purpose is to hold parcels for school sites; construction eventually is funded by the state.

The district benefits from the foundation's sale of land because the profits are then re-invested into the district, the report said.

An undeveloped 70-acre plot in Castaic's Hasley Canyon/Sloan Canyon area, originally purchased for $3.6 million for a potential Castaic high school, has prompted questions about selling that land to help the district fund other projects.

Attorney Rick Patterson, a foundation board member, said if that land is not used for a school, the plan is to divide it into 58 lots that can be sold to developers. That decision lies with the district, he said.

"We will not sell that property until the school district advises that they no longer wish to have it as a potential school site," Patterson said.

Patterson added that, for now, the mission of the foundation is to deal in land purchasing for the district.

Pleased with the progress made last year, Patterson already anticipates closing escrow on an additional 10.5 acres in the Vasquez area.

This new land purchase would leave the foundation with more than 300 acres in that portion of Canyon Country, which Patterson said would probably house a high school, 75 acres of trails, and a junior high school site 1 1/2 miles away.

For Rob Gapper, Hart's chief operations officer, the Canyon Country site is a chance for the district to plan ahead as the Santa Clarita Valley continues to grow.

"We are excited about working on this Canyon Country site. That is a part of our future and will help us get to what we need to," Gappper said.

The Facilities Foundation is self-funded, foundation officials say, with expenses financed from land sales.

The foundation's audit is available online at www.scv-ff.org.

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