THIRD TRY FOR SCHOOL BOND? STATE FUNDING STILL A POSSIBILITY FOR LOCAL DISTRICT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Passed over in the state's latest allocation of school construction funding, Palmdale School District officials say they are considering asking voters a third time to approve a bond measure.

The district was seeking nearly $15 million to build Golden Poppy School but missed the cutoff based on the State Allocation Board's controversial new ``priority point'' system that is the subject of litigation.

``We are very disappointed. We followed all the rules and regulations and thought we were in line, and at the last minute, we got bumped out by another district,'' Superintendent Nancy Smith said. ``This will really impact future planning. We need to get the community involved. We've done a pretty good job in housing students by building 15 schools in 12 years. The community needs to enter the picture in helping us.''

The Palmdale district had hoped to get $7.2 million in new construction money and $7.7 million in ``hardship funding'' from the state to build Golden Poppy School at 62nd Street East and Avenue R-4.

But the Allocation Board at its meeting last week gave the district nothing at all. The board disbursed $159 million in its quarterly apportionment to 32 projects proposed by county offices of education that are exempt from the ``priority point'' system and 16 other projects that garnered 562 priority points or more, said Mat Havens, the district's facilities manager.

Golden Poppy's tally was 541 points, 10 projects down on the list, Havens said.

``We were hoping to be funded. We thought we had a good chance. Other schools supposedly have a higher need based on points,'' Havens said.

Smith said a district in the Coachella Valley had originally been on the list for $15 million in funding for two small projects but replaced them with a $98 million project.

``The larger project knocked us down the list,'' Smith said.

The allocation board's next round of funding is in June, when the district will seek money again for Golden Poppy and for two other schools, Ana Verde Plaza and Ponderosa School.

But Havens said prospects are dim because the hardship money is running out, there are projects already ahead of the district in points, and other projects will be submitted between now and the June meeting.

Smith said the district will be considering other funding options, including trying again to pass a general obligation bond measure. The district twice - in 1996 and in 1997 - tried and failed to pass an $81 million school construction bond measure, getting the majority of the vote but falling short of the two-thirds needed for it to pass.

Proposition 39, approved by voters statewide last November, lowered the approval needed for bond measures from two-thirds to 55 percent, but placed restrictions on the amount of debt a school district can pursue, Smith said.

Smith said the maximum property tax allowed under the measure is $30 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, which would net the district between $20 million and $24 million.

That's enough to build 2 1/2 schools if the state pays for half of the cost, Smith said.

If the district were to pursue a $55 million bond measure and win approval from two-thirds of voters, that would solve the district's school-building needs for more than 10 years, Smith said.

Another option is a new type of financing called ``bridge financing.''

``We would have to look at borrowing money for school district debt, which makes me uncomfortable. You pay for it out of the general fund. That takes money away from educating students,'' Smith said.

Smith said she will likely present funding options to the district trustees in May.

After a lawsuit by Los Angeles parents, the Allocation Board devised a new formula allocating money based on ``priority points.'' The new formula then was challenged in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of school districts.

A court hearing in that case is set for later this month, Havens said.

Had Golden Poppy been funded, construction would have started in August and been completed in February 2003.