Commercial rent nosedive hits school district Commercial rent nosedive hits school district (May 24, 2002)

By Candice Shih

When the economy sours, no one is happy except the one who gets the good deal. The good deal this week was the lease of the Whisman School site. Previously rented out at $1 million per year, bidding Tuesday topped out at only $640,000 a year for a twenty-year lease.

This final amount bodes well for the winning bidder, the German School of Silicon Valley, but poorly for the Mountain View-Whisman School District, which owns the site.

The German School, which educates about 95 students from pre-school through eighth-grade, is currently a subtenant at the former Whisman School on Easy Street. The German School, in turn, intends to sublease portions of the property now, said Cofounder Christian Kaiser.

The difference between the current lease and the top bid, "$360,000, is a chunk of money," said Rebecca Wright, the school district's chief financial officer.

She said bidding was slow because of the downturn in the economy. Monarch Christian School, the current tenant at Whisman, could not renew its lease because of declining enrollment, another possible effect of the economy.

The loss in district revenue with the Whisman lease may affect Bubb Elementary School in particular.

Although a final candidate was identified for the principalship of Bubb, she may not be hired. Instead, in order to save the district money, a current district employee may get tapped for the job, much to the frustration and anger of Bubb parents and staff.

Bubb has been without a permanent principal since Judy Crates was reassigned to Graham Middle School last summer. Interim principals have since filled in.

A search process involving an interview team of Bubb community members and the district administration recently identified a final candidate, said Stephanie Totter, the district director of personnel.

But, as Wright pointed out, additional factors have surfaced since the search process began. The state education budget has tightened and it became clear that the district could end up with lower income from the Whisman School site.

Thus, because of the economic uncertainties, the school board decided to delay the hiring of a new permanent principal. This left the Bubb community feeling helpless.

"We should have the very best principal," said Vicki Foshay, a Bubb kindergarten teacher and parent. She said she did not want someone who did not apply for the position to be assigned to it.

"I don't believe that the school deserves second best," agreed Bubb parent Jennifer Bice.

About forty Bubb parents and teachers attended a school board meeting last week to share their frustrations. Parent Kim Zarmer said she did not want to relive the administrative disorganization she observed this past school year. Parent Gail Haspert was concerned about the district's credibility since it had offered a position that it may now be rescinding.

"As much as we understand everyone's financial hardship, Bubb shouldn't have to suffer," said Foshay.

According to Wright, the Bubb principalship and the Whisman lease are two pieces of the bigger budget puzzle. She intends to present the first draft of the budget to the school board on June 20.

The board will make the final decision on whether the high bid by the German School will be accepted on its May 23 meeting and, on a later date, who the district will hire as the new Bubb principal.