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Debate over Media Center continues
By Kerrie Russell
Tribune Editor
A standing-room only crowd of teachers, students, parents and community access television supporters packed the band room at Healdsburg High School last week to voice concerns over a plan that could mean the end of Access Healdsburg Television.
The Healdsburg Unified School District Board of Trustees is considering a proposal to relocate its district offices to the district-owned Media Center building on the HHS campus — possibly ousting the television station.
School board president Mary Burke said that while she sees the value in the work of AHTV, the realities of the district’s financial situation will be the driving force behind whatever decision is made.
“The current financial situation has meant we’ve cut teachers for next year,” she said. “It’s been a difficult time and whatever decision is made about the Media Center, it’s 4,000 square feet and if we don’t use it, we need to make money from it. We can no longer give away assets.”
The proposal is one of five options for the district offices put forth by HUSD Superintendent Jeff Harding, all of which he called, “poor options.”
Currently, the district offices for 14 administrative employees are housed in portable buildings on the HHS campus on the corner of Powell Avenue and Prince Street.
The buildings, which were intended to be used for one or two years, seven years ago, are in such bad shape the state architect won’t sign off on them. Problems with dry rot, ventilation, and the lack of permanent sewer and water lines, among other building issues, has forced the district to look for longterm solutions.
In his presentation to the board, Harding highlighted the issues with the district office by showing pictures of the problems, most notably one of an above-ground septic container behind the district office’s portable bathrooms. On top of the tanks sit cinder blocks because when the rain comes, the septic tanks would sometimes begin to float away.
But, supporters of Access Healdsburg TV don’t like what is looking to be one of the most likely solutions, moving the district offices to the Media Center, and relocating AHTV to the Community Center at Foss Creek School.
Sarah Bond, the new Operations Manager at AHTV told the school board that both students and community members take advantage of the community access station.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve had 137 visitors — 80 percent of those were HHS students,” Bond said.
Bond said a forced move of the television station could mean its end.
“If a move were to take place, we’d never be able to revive this fantastic community resource,” Bond said.
Healdsburg resident Richard Burg said the community would lose if Access Healdsburg was moved out of the Media Center.
“It would be a major disaster if you elected to use that facility as office spaces,” he said.
Burg said while he understood the issues at the district office, “To destroy something like that to replace it with offices seems like a criminal act.”
The Media Center, built with funds from a 1994 school bond, was outfitted with equipment and cable lines from a cable franchise agreement secured by the city in 2002. Later that spring, a five-year facilities agreement was signed between the city and the school district. That agreement expired two years ago and a new deal has not been reached.
Some AHTV supporters think a compromise is likely, with either the station paying rent for use of the Media Center building or some other compromise reached between the three groups (AHTV, HUSD and the city of Healdsburg).
Barbara Pinney, a science teacher at Healdsburg Junior High School said the district’s students deserve to use that Media Center.
“Administrators deserve a beautiful place to work, but so do our kids,” she said. Pinney said that many teachers buy their own supplies and fix up their own classrooms and equipment and maybe it was time administrators started doing the same.
“I don’t want you to have to be in buildings with termites flying and I don’t want to see septic tanks floating down Healdsburg Avenue, but we need to keep the Media Center for our students,” Pinney said.
Harding said he is continuing to look at all alternatives and the school board will evaluate all options, but a decision needs to be made fairly soon, he said.
“We really are in a problem solving mode, not an eviction mode,” he said. “But we really do need to make a decision.”
The Healdsburg Unified School District Board of Trustees is considering a proposal to relocate its district offices to the district-owned Media Center building on the HHS campus — possibly ousting the television station.
School board president Mary Burke said that while she sees the value in the work of AHTV, the realities of the district’s financial situation will be the driving force behind whatever decision is made.
“The current financial situation has meant we’ve cut teachers for next year,” she said. “It’s been a difficult time and whatever decision is made about the Media Center, it’s 4,000 square feet and if we don’t use it, we need to make money from it. We can no longer give away assets.”
The proposal is one of five options for the district offices put forth by HUSD Superintendent Jeff Harding, all of which he called, “poor options.”
Currently, the district offices for 14 administrative employees are housed in portable buildings on the HHS campus on the corner of Powell Avenue and Prince Street.
The buildings, which were intended to be used for one or two years, seven years ago, are in such bad shape the state architect won’t sign off on them. Problems with dry rot, ventilation, and the lack of permanent sewer and water lines, among other building issues, has forced the district to look for longterm solutions.
In his presentation to the board, Harding highlighted the issues with the district office by showing pictures of the problems, most notably one of an above-ground septic container behind the district office’s portable bathrooms. On top of the tanks sit cinder blocks because when the rain comes, the septic tanks would sometimes begin to float away.
But, supporters of Access Healdsburg TV don’t like what is looking to be one of the most likely solutions, moving the district offices to the Media Center, and relocating AHTV to the Community Center at Foss Creek School.
Sarah Bond, the new Operations Manager at AHTV told the school board that both students and community members take advantage of the community access station.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve had 137 visitors — 80 percent of those were HHS students,” Bond said.
Bond said a forced move of the television station could mean its end.
“If a move were to take place, we’d never be able to revive this fantastic community resource,” Bond said.
Healdsburg resident Richard Burg said the community would lose if Access Healdsburg was moved out of the Media Center.
“It would be a major disaster if you elected to use that facility as office spaces,” he said.
Burg said while he understood the issues at the district office, “To destroy something like that to replace it with offices seems like a criminal act.”
The Media Center, built with funds from a 1994 school bond, was outfitted with equipment and cable lines from a cable franchise agreement secured by the city in 2002. Later that spring, a five-year facilities agreement was signed between the city and the school district. That agreement expired two years ago and a new deal has not been reached.
Some AHTV supporters think a compromise is likely, with either the station paying rent for use of the Media Center building or some other compromise reached between the three groups (AHTV, HUSD and the city of Healdsburg).
Barbara Pinney, a science teacher at Healdsburg Junior High School said the district’s students deserve to use that Media Center.
“Administrators deserve a beautiful place to work, but so do our kids,” she said. Pinney said that many teachers buy their own supplies and fix up their own classrooms and equipment and maybe it was time administrators started doing the same.
“I don’t want you to have to be in buildings with termites flying and I don’t want to see septic tanks floating down Healdsburg Avenue, but we need to keep the Media Center for our students,” Pinney said.
Harding said he is continuing to look at all alternatives and the school board will evaluate all options, but a decision needs to be made fairly soon, he said.
“We really are in a problem solving mode, not an eviction mode,” he said. “But we really do need to make a decision.”
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