HART TROUBLES SPILL INTO '07 SCHOOL DISTRICT LOOKS TO DEAL WITH COST OVERRUNS, FINISH CONSTRUCTION.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Facing a relentless enrollment boom while plagued by construction budget overruns and legal troubles, the William S. Hart Union High School District definitely had a tough year in 2006.

And some of its issues will spill into the new year.

The district is facing possible litigation after ousting its finance chief and denying him an agreed-upon separation pay. And problems remain in the construction and renovations Rory Livingston, the former superintendent of business services, oversaw. Those problems likely will force the district to tap into voter-approved bond money to complete the work already under way.

Work not yet done

Older campuses are still waiting for modernization work -- Canyon and Saugus high schools performed their year-end recitals elsewhere because promised performing arts centers are up in the air -- and ground has yet to be broken for the long-anticipated Castaic High School.

But as the new year begins, district officials vow more oversight to avoid the mistakes that marked the past year.

``We are anxious to put in place all of the controls that will prevent these types of mistakes from happening again,'' said Rob Gapper, Hart's chief operations officer.

Checks and balances

Gapper's position was the first in a series of changes put in place after construction budgets peaked at $43 million over budget and Livingston was let go.

Livingston's duties were split into two positions, Gapper's and the post of chief financial officer, which Sue Guthrie took.

That move was designed to create a checks-and-balances system found missing when the district commissioned an audit.

Livingston, granted a settlement and separation agreement in May, filed a claim when the district failed to pay him and charged wrongful termination and defamation of character for damages in excess of the original $234,000 settlement. The claim has yet to be settled, and a lawsuit is likely.

Accountability

Together, Gapper and Guthrie say they think they will bring the district the financial accountability it needs.

Gapper's focus will remain on the management of construction, maintenance, operations and transportation projects in the district.

Guthrie, who has worked for the Hart district for 20 years, will work on all budgets and expenditures for the district. Guthrie was handling the general fund budgets when she worked under Livingston because he had taken the lead in the facilities finances.

``There is a lot of collaboration on what funding sources should be used as opposed to one person making that determination,'' Guthrie said. ``That is something we didn't have before.''

Communication key

Communication is key for the school board, which suffered its share of criticism last year.

``Open communication, straightforward information and honest truth is key in 2007,'' board member Gloria Mercado-Fortine said.

Mercado added that under the current administration -- including relatively new Superintendent Jaime Castellanos -- the board will get the information it lacked to decide difficult issues.

``This year is the first year that I'm really finding that board members are getting factual information to help them make the important decisions they need to make, which have such an impact on the future of our kids in this valley,'' Mercado said.

Better communication with the public is another priority for 2007.

``Hart district needs to continue building trust with the community, and the only way to do that is to be as open and as transparent as possible,'' board member Dennis King said.

King said part of the problem last year was the district's failure to communicate the problems it faced, leading to negative speculation.

``The perception is that there was some negligent act when really a relatively small portion of the construction overruns were caused by mistakes,'' King said.

The fact that the district will have to use MeasureV funds from a $158million bond voters approved in 2001 shouldn't be of concern, King added.

Bond money is being used as intended -- in fact, money from developers was used instead of bond money, he said. About $95million remains of the bond revenue.

[e-mail]

[phone]