Orange Unified officials propose asset-management plan to raise revenue through advertising, office consolidation

Deputy Superintendent Rivera told the Orange Unified School District Board on May 23 that the district needs new revenue strategies to protect classroom services as state funding and enrollment shift.

"The expected outcome is that we increase our efficiencies as a business and that we generate additional resources to support the organization's mission," Rivera said, describing a four-part asset-management plan that includes revenue enhancements, expenditure reductions, transfers to restricted programs and the judicious use of one-time funds.

Rivera described specific revenue ideas: leasing or selling underused parcels, pursuing advertising on district-owned property adjacent to freeways and considering consolidation of scattered district offices into a single commercial building with space for a parent or resource center. He said the district is already seeing benefits from programs that attract out-of-district students and noted each additional student is worth roughly $12,000 in state revenue.

On potential returns, Rivera estimated modest near-term revenue could cover the equivalent of "one or two teachers," citing an average teacher cost of about $125,000. He urged feasibility studies for marquee/advertising proposals and for options that would preserve or expand funding for facility improvements tied to the district’s "SMART" renovation plan.

Board members asked detailed questions about legal and practical limits on advertising, potential impacts on nearby residential areas and how proceeds would be directed to school improvements. One trustee cautioned that large electronic marquees near Crescent and Fairhaven elementaries would require neighbor outreach; Rivera said the advertising concepts discussed would sit in unencumbered areas next to freeways, not inside residential parcels, and would require coordination with cities and Caltrans.

Rivera also summarized commercial real-estate pressures — higher vacancy and rising interest rates — and flagged a tranche of maturing commercial mortgages that, he said, is depressing market prices. He proposed the board authorize staff to research options, conduct site-specific feasibility work and return with cost, legal and community-impact analyses.

No formal action was taken beyond the board’s direction to receive more information; trustees asked staff to bring back detailed proposals and the results of feasibility studies.