School District Sues Yorba Linda, Saying $8 Million Is Owed

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has filed a lawsuit against Yorba Linda’s Redevelopment Agency, seeking at least $8 million in redevelopment funds that school officials say the district is owed.

The suit, filed this week in Santa Ana Superior Court, alleges that the Redevelopment Agency has been withholding a portion of the property tax revenue owed to the school district since the mid-1980s. The money could have provided much-needed financing for additional classrooms and perhaps even new schools, district officials said.

District officials also say that if the city continues to underpay, the schools stand to lose about $108 million over the next 25 years.

Dan Miller, Yorba Linda’s interim city manager, declined to comment on the details of the case. In the past, however, city officials have denied the district’s allegations. And the City Council in July denied a claim filed by the school district to recover the funds.