SANTA ANA : 2 School Openings Will Ease Crowding

The Santa Ana Unified School District will open two elementary schools over the next few months as part of a building program to ease crowding on its campuses.

Construction on Adeline Walker Elementary School is expected to be completed over the summer, and the Carl Harvey Orthopedically Handicapped School will be converted into a regular elementary school.

Some of Harvey’s students will remain at the campus while others will be integrated into other campuses throughout the district. Many will also attend regular classes as part of the district’s policy aimed at providing the least restrictive curriculum for special education students, said spokeswoman Diane Thomas.

Harvey, at 1635 S. Center St., will hold about 440 students when it begins its traditional schedule in September. Walker, at 811 E. Bishop St., will hold about 700 students when it begins a year-round schedule in July, Thomas said.

Opening the two schools will significantly ease crowding at the district’s 10 other elementary schools, lowering their enrollment by an average of about 115 students. Providing additional school space is crucial for the district, which has had 10 consecutive years of growth, Thomas said.

The district now serves about 48,000 students. Additionally, some elementary sites have more than 1,200 students, making each of those schools larger than half of the districts statewide, she added.

To further ease crowding, the district will begin building Martin Luther King Elementary School, 1001 Graham Lane, within the next three months, officials said.

Also at the meeting, board members reviewed the two schools’ proposed attendance boundaries.

Students who would attend Harvey live in the area bounded roughly by Raitt Street to the east, the Santa Ana River to the west, Harvard Street to the south and Edinger Avenue to the north.

Students who will attend Walker live in the area bounded roughly by Standard Avenue to the east, Main Street to the west, McFadden Avenue to the south and Bishop Street to the north.

Thomas said final approval for those attendance areas will be considered at the next board meeting on June 8.