SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A civil grand jury investigation faults the San Francisco Unified School District for mismanaging surplus, unused property worth millions that could be used to improve its bottom line.
Some of the district’s excess real estate is currently leased to generate revenue, but the report calls on the school district to sell some of that real estate for much greater sums.
“We are recommending that the San Francisco Unified School District actually take seriously the fact that it owns so much property and can do a lot of things, a lot of good for the students and for the city,” said Abraham Simmons, a member of the grand jury.
A spokeswoman for the district, Gentle Blythe, told KCBS the grand jury report shows a lack of understanding about the terms and conditions under which public properties can be sold.
California law requires the school board to use money generated from selling real estate on capital improvement projects. Money from leasing does not have that restriction.
The report accused the district of not properly accounting for all of the property it owns or considering the value those properties might garner on the market.
Blythe noted that all of the parcels in question was zoned as public, meaning developers would need to apply for rezoning to build anything.
The cash poor district recently received $11.5 million from the rainy day fund established by voters specifically to preserve vital school services during rough economic times.
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