CSUS Head of Middle School Responds to Concerns

[Editor's Note: The following was written by Andrew Davis, Head of School, Crystal Springs Uplands Middle School:]

There have been many questions raised about the fiscal impact to the City of Belmont posed by Crystal Springs Uplands School’s effort to build a new middle school campus on 6- 8 and 10 Davis Drive.  

The proposal requires the rezoning of the commercial site for school use and Crystal Springs is exempt from paying property taxes as a not-for-profit entity. Despite this exemption, we have been listening carefully to the Belmont community and submitted new Development Agreement (DA) terms on June 29,2012.

With these terms, we have tried to show that the uniqueness of Crystal Springs’ annual financial payments, the one time payment to the City, and the on-going community benefits, will mitigate these concerns. We also hope to alleviate concerns by offering payments well in excess of any City expenses required to service the project site. The revised DA terms include:

• An annual payment of $175,000 (plus up to a 2% CPI increase per annum) for the duration of Crystal Spring’s occupancy. The current site generates revenue to the City (primarily for General Fund and Fire District) in the amount of $63,975, mainly from the  City’s share of  property tax revenues. Unlike tax revenue, the $175K annual payment can be used at Belmont’s discretion.  Crystal Springs has suggested that the City earmark $40,000 of this annual payment to programs that benefit Belmont youth.

• Public use of an all-weather, regulation soccer field during weekends and three weeks in the summer, an annual value of $35,000 to $43,000.  The range is based on two valuation methods: a use-based cost allocation method ($35K) and  a standard $60/hour field rental rate in Belmont suggested at the Planning Commission ($43K)

• A one-time payment of $100,000 to be used at the City’s discretion. This payment could be used for many things, including funding for a proposed Ralston corridor shuttle service or School Force. It is our hope that this benefit, along with the earmarking of $40,000 of our annual payment, will help offset any loss in revenue to Belmont schools.

While summertime use of the Crystal Springs campus is still under consideration, our Hillsborough summer program includes a sports camp for our current students, and the Peninsula Bridge program, a program which offers an academic and enrichment experience for middle school students from under-resourced communities. Both these activities would have little, if any, impact on Belmont-run programs.

Finally, some people have also voiced concern over the loss of potential sales tax revenue by rezoning the site. Sales taxes are collected from businesses that sell tangible goods and property. It is our understanding that the 6- 8 and 10 Davis Drive parcels have not generated sales tax revenue for several decades and there is no guarantee that a future occupant of the site will ever generate sales tax.

Instead of the City losing revenue from the zoning change, it is our strong belief that Crystal Springs actually will be a significant and important revenue source, a good neighbor, and bring benefits to the City of Belmont for decades to come.

--Andrew Davis, Head of Middle School, CSUS

For more Patch coverage of the CSUS proposal, , or type CSUS into the blue search box above.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us|