CUSD Needs $822 Mil for Repairs, Upgrades But Only Has $45 Mil

Originally posted at 12:02 a.m. Nov. 7, 2013. Edited to add information about deferred maintenance.

Capistrano Unified’s superintendent made headlines in March when he announced that the sprawling district’s schools needs about $1 billion to fix its schools. But it’s really more like $822 million.

Officials updated the school board Wednesday on where the campuses are lacking and how much money the district has to address those areas.

If CUSD wants to make every safety change, bring up the buildings to current state standards, address long-ignored maintenance issues, replace half the portables in the district and upgrade technology for 21st century needs, it would cost the $822 million, said Clark Hampton, deputy superintendent of business services.

However, if the trustees decided to put aside the need for technology upgrades, keep the portables and not try to meet state standards (for example, one such standard says middle schools should have gymnasiums), then the rest of the needs would only cost $218 million, Hampton said.

Regardless, even pooling together all of the district’s various resources to spend on facilities, it only has $45 million, Hampton said.

“So high need, low dollars,” he said.

Included in these numbers is $60.4 million needed for repairs on routine maintenance the district has put off during the economic crisis of the last few years, Clark said. 

"Roofs driveways, sidewalks, you fix them up and they last a few years and then they start to wear down," he said. 

For perspective, Hampton’s presentation indicated that the $45 million available, divided among the district’s campuses, would average $801,000 per school. To fix the heating and ventilation system at Dana Hills High School would cost $2.3 million alone.

Trustees directed staff to come back with a more detailed plan on how the money can be used and which projects should come first.

It will probably be the roofs, said Superintendent Joseph Farley. It’s not “sexy,” but it’s necessary.

“It’s something we wish we didn’t have to spend money on, but we do,” Farley said. “Because we’re patching and repairing, that won’t last much longer.”

Trustee Ellen Addonizio said she would like to see the district get to work right away on the most urgent of needs, especially the roofs before the rainy season.

She suggested “going for the low-hanging fruit essentially,” she said, recommending the roofs at Shorecliffs Middle School in San Clemente be addressed first.

President John Alpay said he was tired of seeing San Clemente High – the school with the greatest of needs – always get short shrift.

“What do I have to do here stand on my head here? We have a desperate-needs school,” Alpay said, citing a broken pool heater that sends the water polo team to play at San Juan Hills High and teachers who pray it won’t rain on their indoor activities at the Triton Center.

“It just seems a gross inequity,” he said.

The board is scheduled to next address the topic in December.