Tuesday: School District Town Hall Meeting — Make Your Voice Heard

An effort by Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified to be more transparent and engaging with the community has spurred a public forum set for Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at Lawrence E. Jones Middle School.

At issue is how the district will spend the remaining $4 million left over from a 1990 voter-approved $85 million bond measure — which passed that summer with more than 70 percent of the vote.

According to language in the bond, funds can only be used to build or purchase school buildings, purchase land for schools, improve school facilities and the building or construction of improvements both on and off school sites "that are essential to the development of the schools." 

Superintendent Robert Haley said the goal of the town hall meeting is to review projects completed to date, get input from the public, answer questions and talk about future district needs.

"We want to hear from people of they have questions about [the 1990 bond] and what to consider when looking at remaining funds," Haley said.

Some projects undertaken include an auto body repair facility at Rancho Cotate High School, a new stadium, track and field at Rancho, ongoing maintenance at schools district wide and the purchase of the property where Lawrence E. Jones is.

Projects in limbo, due to lack of funds, include school site safety upgrades, expansion of the multi-use building at Evergreen Elementary (estimated at $5 million), building a performing arts center at Rancho (estimated to cost $16 million) and other improvements at Rancho Cotate such as rebuilding the gym and quad area (together would cost about $20 million).

Some questions remain unclear — where bond monies were spent, how often and who did audits of the expenditures, when those audits occurred.

A review of the bond in 2007 identified $34.6 million in site upgrades, upkeep and future projects, but at the time there was only $5.6 million remaining. Yet, another audit by the Fiscal Crisis and Management and Assistance Team found $6.4 million left in June of 2008.

So, how much was paid for the land at Lawrene E. Jones? Where are the boundaries and how much is it currently worth? The new football field and auto shop were estimated to cost $4.4 million together — how much did it actually come to? What'll be done with the remaining $4 million? Why can't monies be spent on books and teacher salaries?

"Those are excellent questions," said Anne Barron, the district's interim cheif financial officer, in an email Thursday. "This is the reason the district hired Jack Schreder and Associates to prepare the study."

The consultant, who was hired to perform an external audit, will charge the district about $42,225. The school board approved the funding in September and will be taken out of the facilities fund.

"They won’t be paid in full until after the Town Hall meeting," Barron said.

Editor's note: District officials said the town hall meeting is not a formal school board meeting, though trustees will be in attendance to hear feedback. 

What questions do you have about the bond measure or projects? District officials are requesting questions from the public prior to the meeting, to help steer the direction. Submit your questions below, and Rohnert Park Patch will send them to the district for you.