Santa Ana : Decision Delayed on ‘Space-Saver’ School

Ignoring shouts from the audience to “take a stand,” the Santa Ana Unified School District board postponed a decision on whether to build a “space-saver” school in the Bristol Marketplace shopping center.

After seven hours of testimony and debate that lasted until almost 2 a.m. Wednesday, board members agreed to delay their action until a special meeting Feb. 15.

“We have to be fiscally prudent. We’re talking about a $43-million project. That’s big bucks,” said board President Sal Mendoza.

“This proposal has been treated like a business deal, and a hasty one at that, instead of a facility for our children and the best one for our children,” Trustee Rosemarie Avila added. “There are a lot of problems with this site, and there need to be real changes, not a lot of unwritten promises.”

However, Supt. Rudy M. Castruita warned the board in an emotional speech that delays could jeopardize state funding for the project and cost the district a crucial opportunity to alleviate overcrowding at local campuses.

“As an employee of this district, I am deeply saddened tonight,” he told the board. “Our kids and youngsters deserve the very best, and my No. 1 concern is the building of new facilities.”

Space-saver schools are built vertically, with several stories, instead of taking up large areas with single-floor buildings. The idea behind them, according to school officials, is to add schools--without condemning private property--in dense cities with little room for new development.

If approved, the school would house 1,300 intermediate students and serve as a model for other urban districts statewide, officials said.

Castruita emphasized that the project is an opportunity to build a school four to seven years faster than by using traditional methods. If the board fails to adopt the space-saver plan, any alternative school construction would most likely require condemning residents’ homes to make room for a new campus.

More than 450 people attended Tuesday night’s public hearing at Rancho Santiago College’s Phillips Hall, with many spilling outside. About 80 people spoke to the board, with roughly two-thirds favoring the project, and comments often sparked loud applause. Several people called for the board to delay its vote so that potential problems such as traffic, noise and security could be better addressed.

“I’d like to move on this item tonight. We need to be aggressive in handling this situation,” said Trustee Robert W. Balen after hearing public comments. “I think our district has been given an opportunity to grab the brass ring, and if we turn it down,” the children of the district will suffer, he said.

Trustee Audrey Yamagata-Noji joined Balen in supporting the plan. But Balen later withdrew his motion to approve the required environmental document when a board majority appeared ready to reject it.

Avila suggested that the district scrap the current plan and resubmit a proposal for an alternative site. Trustee Tom Chaffee objected to placing a school inside a shopping mall and surrounding it with parking lots.

Mendoza emphasized that he supports building at the site but believes the district should not purchase the land until it has the money from the state in hand, pointing out that about half of the money is contingent on voter approval of a bond issue in June.

When the board began discussing whether to delay a decision, some of the dozens of restless, tired and often irritated audience members started shouting at trustees: “Take a stand! Vote on it tonight!”