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Advisory committee urges sale, lease or redevelopment options for Kelso and Highland school sites
Summary
The Inglewood Unified School District Asset Management Advisory Committee recommended that the county administrator consider selling, leasing or redeveloping the former Kelso and Highland elementary school sites and authorize further fiscal and feasibility analysis; no formal surplus or disposition action was taken at the meeting.
Cheryl Matthews, chair of the Asset Management Advisory Committee, presented the committee’s report and recommendations on the disposition and future uses of two district properties: the former Kelso Elementary School (809 East Kelso Street) and the former Highland Elementary School (430 Venice Way).
Matthews told the board the committee considered a range of options, urging the county administrator to evaluate sale, lease or exchange to “maximize the property’s long‑term value and community benefit.” The committee recommended short‑ and long‑term leasing, renovation, repurposing or demolition, and detailed fiscal analysis of options including employee housing, joint occupancy agreements, community‑serving programs, and partnerships with local public agencies or nonprofits such as the YMCA. The committee also recommended exploring green space and community multi‑use facilities and asked staff to engage a real‑estate broker to expand disposition options.
Matthews said the committee met publicly under the Brown Act, held a community hearing on April 14, 2026 to gather input, and emphasized that the presentation did not constitute a declaration of surplus or an approval of any particular disposition. She specifically advised the county administrator to consider opportunities to use lease revenue to address district obligations and to prohibit data‑center uses for the sites.
Board members responded with praise for Matthews and the committee’s work. Vice President Brandon Myers and Board Member Joyce Randall commended the report as comprehensive; Trustee Ernest Castillo and others thanked Matthews for community outreach and for engaging public feedback. No board action was taken; Matthews’ presentation was transmitted for the county administrator’s consideration.
The board received public suggestions during the later public‑comment period urging leasing of Highland for community‑school models and social‑emotional services, proposals that Matthews’ presentation also listed as potential uses. The district will next consider the advisory committee’s recommendations as part of any future surplus determination or disposition process.
The board took no formal disposition action on May 6; Matthews emphasized the report’s purpose as recommendations and asked the county administrator and staff to pursue detailed fiscal and feasibility work before any sale or lease was approved. The item remains for future consideration.
