Schools get money back

MOUNTAIN HOUSE — After a forgotten form cost the Lammersville School District $8 million, the district won an appeal to get most of the money back, but it will still lose $1.4 million.

On Feb. 25, Lammersville officials were able to convince the State Allocation Board that the district completed all its other paperwork to receive state matching money and that one form should not block the funding.

The district filed the appeal in July and had known about the form since 2007.

"State Allocation Board staff did not recommend approving the appeal," said Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, a former San Ramon School District board member who presented the case to the board.

Buchanan said that the planner in charge of returning the forms to the board was sick at the time, and the final necessary application was forgotten.

Superintendent Dale Hansen said that the board was a little apprehensive to side with Lammersville’s appeal, fearing that it might create a precedent. However, after a recommendation by the State Allocation Board’s legislative council, the board was won over.

"I was absolutely thrilled with the outcome," Buchanan said. "We got a unanimous vote, and in the three months I’ve had in the legislature, it was the best day I’ve had as an assemblyperson."

The district will be reimbursed more than $6.6 million to repay some of the construction costs of Bethany Elementary School. The money will also be used to design the next Mountain House school, Altamont. Hansen said that planning for that school will begin later this month.

"Now we’re moving forward with plans of the Altamont school. Without this funding, we wouldn’t have been able to do that," Hansen said. "There was no way a district would jump through all the hoops if they were going to fund the school themselves."

Excerpted from www.tracypress.com.