The BUSD Board of Education is seeking qualified candidates for a Surplus Facilities Committee.
The process of declaring a property “surplus” is governed by the State Education Code. It is the clearly stated intent of the Code that the community be involved in determining the use of surplus space prior to Board decisions.
The Board is looking for parents, educators and community members to serve on the Surplus Facilities Committee to address the possibility of surplussing a small strip of land on the Gilman Street side of the BUSD Transportation facility. When this facility was designed, it was done so with the Gilman Street side left open at the request of the City of Berkeley, for possible commercial development in the future.
If a building or site is declared “surplus”, the District has the option of long term leases or sale of property. Without a declaration of surplus, the Board can only lease property for 30 days. Education Code Sections 17387-17391 requires this intent and defines a school district advisory committee. Section 17389 states that:
“A school district advisory committee appointed pursuant to Section 17388 shall consist of not less than seven nor more than 11 members, and shall be representative of each of the following:
- The ethnic, age group, and socioeconomic composition of the district.
- The business community, such as store owners, managers, or supervisors.
- Landowners or renters, with preference to be given to representatives of neighborhood organizations.
- Teachers.
- Administrators.
- Parents of students.
Persons with expertise in environmental impact, legal contracts, building codes, and land use planning, including, but not limited to, knowledge of the zoning and other land use restrictions of the cities or cities and counties in which surplus space and real property is located.”
The Committee is appointed by the governing board to advise, “in the development of district wide policies and procedures governing the use or disposition of school buildings or space in school buildings which is not needed for school purposes.”
Applications will be forwarded to the Board of Education, and interviews will be conducted by the Board before a regularly scheduled board meeting in June. All applications currently on file will be included in this process. Deadline for applications is 4:00 p.m. on Friday May 20, 2016. Applications can be downloaded here.
For more information contact the BUSD Facilities Department at 51-644-6320 or markcoplan@berkeley.net
