School Board Members Give Green Light to Possible Property Sale

members took the first step in putting Ruschin Elementary School on the market Tuesday night in an effort to fortify district funds in the face of an uncertain financial future.

All board members voted to authorize staff members to follow education and government codes by first soliciting offers from public entities for the school.

School Board President Charlie Mensinger said the district needs options as it waits for Gov. Jerry Brown to try and move his property tax extension proposal onto a special election ballot in June.

“With this, we have something ready to go in case that doesn’t work out,” Mensinger said.

Last month, Brown funding kindergarten through 12th grade education with funds from a statewide voter-approved tax extension.

According to the California Department of Education, Ruschin Elementary closed its doors in June 1989 after serving students for nearly nine years.

Chief Financial Officer Steven Shields said any funds from the campus sale may be used for capital improvements or first-time general fund expenditures.

School Board Member Janice Schaefer said the district should consider other long-term options for the property that could generate revenue, like a solar power operation.

School Board Member Ray Rodriguez said the district should look into the possibility of leasing the property.

At this time, the , and preschool operate at the Ruschin campus.

You may read more about the resolution on Ruschin Elementary here.

Board members also approved a resolution to allocate $227,000 to fund facility maintenance .

Also at Tuesday night’s board meeting:

• Community group Avanzando made its case for a high school curriculum that would prepare Newark students for college and careers. The group invited Education Trust – West executive Linda Murray to present the A-G College-Career Ready Curriculum and share how she implemented the program with the San Jose Unified School District. Newark Patch will have more on this proposal in a future article.
• Students in the leadership group updated board members about raising funds with events like family movie night and candy-grams. Students said the candy-gram profits were used to buy jump ropes for "Jump Rope Day." Students said they collected 3,000 cans of food for needy families during the Thanksgiving season.
• :  Students congratulated Alice Chung for being named the 2011 Alameda County English Language Development Teacher of the Year. Students also reported on their poster contest with the theme of eliminating bullying in schools. They announced they’re holding a car wash fundraiser on March 5.
• : Students announced they are working on projects for Black History Month. Students also said they were holding a special rally on Friday that addresses bullying on campus.
• School Board Member Sean Tillman announced students were holding a Career Day on Tuesday, Feb. 8. He also confirmed the school will host its Annual Cougar Athletics Crab Feed at Newark Pavilion on March 26.