Fact #2:

The Facility Planning Advisory Committee members (2013 to 2014) had very limited knowledge of HBCSD facility history and options before being tasked with making important district facility recommendations. Many were new to the district. They were given very little information regarding HBCSD facilities, issues, and options during their meetings. They were NOT given either the 2002 Facility Recommendations nor the 2011 update to the 2002 Facility Recommendations. They were also given demographic projections that were later found to be substantially incorrect.

(1) January 2013 -  The first meeting of the Facilities Planning and Advisory Committee is convened at the Valley School teacher conference room.  There is barely any room for attendees.

FPAC Members:

HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante since Summer 2012

HBCSD Business Manager Angela Jones

Kim Taylor – Valley School principal since Fall 2012

Jason Butcher – physical education teacher since 1999

Karen Hart – physical education teacher

Raul Santacruz Jimenez – HBCSD maintenance worker

Monique Ehsan – parent (resident since 2008) and Chairperson of

the FPAC

Ryan Nowicki – nonparent community member (resident since 2005)

Katrina Bacallao – former teacher and parent

Russ Wilson – resident since 2009, parent of two children

attending View school

Peter Hoffman – grandparent of HBCSD students, Planning

Commission member and Urban Studies professor at LMU.

(2) Basically, the members had NO previous KNOWLEDGE of district facilities and history.  They are given NO background of the history of past HBCSD facility issues and decisions.   

(3) Meetings are not recorded, or video tapped.  FPAC meetings are held in a small conference room in the interior of Valley School.  The door to the conference room is kept closed during meetings.

See Other Facts #7: Several Facility Planning Advisory Committee members (2013 to 2014) were unhappy with how the FPAC process worked.

(4) Community attendees consist of one or two at the first two meetings and up to three or four in later meetings.  Community members are only allowed to comment for three minutes prior to the start of each meeting.  Community members are not allowed to ask questions or make comments during meetings. FPAC members' email address are not made public to the community to ask questions or comment.

(5) The first one- and one-half hour meeting (6:30pm – 8:00pm) meeting is a meet and greet and an examination and discussion of Decision Insite’s 2012 Executive Insite Report for Hermosa Beach.  Decision Insite’s 2012 Executive Insite report made no sense and was later found to be substantially incorrect in its projections.  Please see: DISCUSSION AND FACTS Questionable demographic information, wild swings in enrollment projections and unbelievable historical scenarios contained in HBCSD reports by district consultants, Decision Insite Item #1.

(6) FPAC members are NOT GIVEN either the district’s 2002 Facilities Master Plan or the 2009 Update to the 2002 Facilities Master Plan (HBCSD paid architects Dougherty and Dougherty approximately $100,000 for an update to the 2002 FMP which was promptly shelved.)

(7) FPAC members are not given the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School.

(8) FPAC members are given a very narrow mandate whether or not to renovate or build new North School.

(9) The school district's "expert", Paul Bunton of BCA Architects had been arraigned by the San Diego Superior Court on bribery and lying on official forms.

See Other Facts #3: HBCSD School Board members hired an “expert” on school design based in San Jose, CA to advise the FPAC members during the 2013 facility meetings. The district's "expert" had a legal complaint against him in San Diego county.   Paul Bunton  seemed to have skewed his information to support demolishing and rebuilding North School.

(10) HBCSD hired "expert" takes the FPAC members on a tour of North School, apparently, however, Mr. Bunton does not show the FPAC members the kitchen and the multipurpose room/cafeteria at North School. Apparently, FPAC members are NOT given a floor plan of North School.

See Other Facts #5: HBCSD's hired “expert” to advise the Facilities Planning Advisory Committee (FPAC) was supposed to have given FPAC members a tour of North School, but he apparently left off the kitchen and multipurpose room at North School.

(11) Paul Bunton of BCA Architects estimates that to renovate North School would cost HBCSD $10.9M and take 19 months. Paul Bunton states that to demolish and rebuild North School would cost $14.9M and take 30 months. Given the Paul Bunton's estimate to demolish and rebuild North School would only be a $4M difference, FPAC members recommend rebuilding North School. The actual cost to rebuild North School is $29M and 54 months.

See Other Facts #4: HBCSD's hired “expert” to advise the 2013 Facilities Planning Advisory Committee (FPAC) on their facilities recommendation to school board members estimated only a $4 million dollar difference between renovating and rebuilding North School. The truth was rebuilding North School would cost almost 3x the cost of renovation and take two years longer than the district's "expert" estimated.

Paul Bunton does not add in the time and cost to create an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and get Coastal Commission approval to his estimates to FPAC members. It is assumed that the FPAC members were not aware of the need for an extensive and costly EIR prior to recommending rebuilding of North School to HBCSD School Board members.

(12) After only four meetings, with very little knowledge FPAC members are asked to give their recommendation whether to rebuild or renovate North School to school board members. FPAC chair Monique Ehsan recommends rebuilding North School. Monique Ehsan also admits that renovating North School would also suffice for the district need to reduce overcrowding at Valley and View schools. It seems the deciding factor for FPAC members' decision to rebuild is Paul Bunton's estimate of only a $4M difference between building new and renovating the campus.