Two Santa Maria Valley school districts put off summer maintenance projects that they consider vital because the state budget crisis left them short of funds needed for completion.

Along with every other California school district, Santa Maria-Bonita and Orcutt Unified school districts found their deferred maintenance budgets slashed in half because the state has decided to withhold its annual matching funds for routine projects such as re-roofing, painting and paving.

Thus, instead of completing a slew of maintenance projects over the summer as scheduled, Orcutt and Santa Maria-Bonita officials chose to wait until next year to complete all but the most pressing of those planned projects.

“We have deferred maintenance needs that exist regardless of whether the state will fund their fair share,” said Mathew Beecher, assistant superintendent of business for Santa Maria-Bonita.

On a yearly basis, school districts contribute a mandated percentage of their budgets toward routine, or “deferred” maintenance projects.

In most years, the state matches each individual district’s contribution.

But, citing a $15 billion budgetary shortfall, the state has decided to withhold these matching funds from schools.

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In sharp contrast to previous years, building activity has stalled for Santa Maria-Bonita.

The district's three newest campuses — Liberty and Sanchez elementary schools and Kunst Junior High School — opened in 2004, and the district recently completed other projects, including gymnasiums at Arellanes, El Camino and Fesler junior highs and construction at Ontiveros, Rice, Adam, Bonita, Bruce and Oakley elementary schools.

Now, “we’re basically doing deferred maintenance projects. Most of our construction projects are completed at this point,” Beecher said.

Despite state cuts, the district did go ahead with its deferred maintenance projects that simply could not wait.

“We don’t want the need to continue to grow without being at least addressed and ... of course, hope springs eternal and sometimes the state changes its mind,” Beecher said.

Orcutt is in the same boat, district officials said, noting that they had to put some projects, such as resurfacing the playground at Patterson Road School, on hold temporarily.

“We were concerned about moving forward, so we just delayed that project for a while,” said Marysia Ochej, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services. “We’ve done some things on our own, just so it’s not a significant hazard for students. We try to minimize the significant hazards as best we can until we can get to them.”

August 7, 2008