LANCASTER LOOKS TO STATE SCHOOL BOND\March ballot item would help cover cost of growth, officials say.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

The Lancaster School District will need nearly $35 million to build four schools to house the more than 3,000 students expected to be generated by residential development over the next 20 years.

Developer fees, however, will only produce about $16.9 million, leaving a shortfall of more than $18 million, so school officials are casting a hopeful eye toward a $3 billion school construction bond measure that will be placed before the state's voters in March.

"If that passes, it would take the pressure off the local area," Superintendent Stephen Gocke said. "There are $7 billion worth of (school building) requests waiting for money, so if it passes, it's only a little swipe at the situation."

While Palmdale School District officials are considering asking voters to approve a general obligation bond financed by property taxes, a school-district consultant says Lancaster has relatively low assessed valuation, which would make it difficult to use local bonds as the sole source of financing.

A general obligation bond program may not deliver sufficient funds to build the needed schools without excessively high taxes, the consultant concluded.

Gocke said three proposed schools - two elementary campuses and one middle school campus - have already received state approvals and are eligible for state funding.

The two elementary schools would replace the temporary schools of New Vista and Lancaster. The middle school site is at 27th Street West and Avenue J, Gocke said.

The growth projections were contained in a consultant's report that is required to justify the district's increase in developer fees to the maximum allowed by the state, Gocke said.

Developer fees, which are now set at $1.72 per square foot, are adjusted for inflation every two years by the State Allocation Board, according to the report by the consulting firm, Caldwell Flores Winters Inc.

Developer fees will rise this year, probably by about 5 percent, Gocke said.

"It's instituted by the state, but we still have to justify the need to increase it locally," Gocke said.

Collection of developer fees is split between the Lancaster district and the Antelope Valley Union High School District, with 74 percent, or $1.27 per square foot, levied and retained by the elementary school district, the report states.

"Developer fees pay the leases for temporary classrooms. It's not enough to pay for permanent schools," Gocke said. "That's why we need state or local bonds or developer agreements."

The district is short on space for approximately 3,025 pupils. These youngsters are either assigned to portable classrooms or attend school in overcrowded classrooms, the report states.

Enrollment at the majority of the district's 15 schools outstrips the schools' capacities, the report states. For example, Park View School has a capacity for 803 students, but has an enrollment of 1,320.

"This shortfall is expected to increase without the construction of additional school facilities," the report states.

The district's enrollment has more than doubled, from 6,177 in 1981 to 12,883 in 1994, for an average annual increase of 516 students per year over 14 years, the report states.

The district's growth has mirrored that of the city of Lancaster. The report estimates that the city's population has grown from 49,983 in 1981 to 115,524 in 1994, for an average annual increase of 5,042.

Annual housing stock within the district has grown from an estimated 17,283 units in 1981 to 37,824 units in 1994, for an annual average increase of 1,580 units for the 14-year period, according to the report.

District officials expect to keep seeing enrollment growth. One formula estimates that enrollment could increase from 12,883 students in fall 1994 to 14,594 students in the 1999-2000 school year, an increase of 1,711 students, or a 13.3 percent annual growth rate over five years, the report said.

Over a 20-year period through 2015, the report estimates that 7,960 permits may be issued for houses, apartment and condominium units and mobile homes.

The report states that through 2016, new residential development is expected to bring the district 3,166 more pupils.