Vista district
stays course on magnet campus
VISTA ---- After a
lengthy presentation about where to build two proposed magnet high schools,
the Vista school board appeared ready Monday to move forward with plans for
a controversial campus at Melrose Drive and Highway 76 in eastern Oceanside.
Vista Unified School District trustees heard a staff report that examined
five different proposals for the magnet schools ---- and for the district's
aging Lincoln Middle School ---- but eventually indicated the existing plan
for the Melrose campus made the most sense.
In a separate item, the
board voted 3-2 to accept revisions to a revised environmental impact report
for the magnet school campus.
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"It sounds to me like, despite five very creative ideas for how we can make better use of Lincoln, none of them are feasible given the limitations that the state puts on us," Trustee David Hubbard said. "I don't think we have a choice but to go forward."
If the plans to build a campus on 66 acres near Highway 76 and Melrose Drive were changed, the district could lose some of the $40 million it has secured in matching state money, district Chief Facilities Officer Karl Bradley said.
Any changes could delay the completion of the project by two to five years, he said.
In addition, any major renovation or new building on the 18-acre Lincoln property would require voter approval and would not be finished until at least 2010, Bradley said.
The aging campus is expected to be empty after its students and staff transfer to the new Rancho Minerva Middle School in January.
Though district workers and parents have complained that the nearly 70-year-old campus is falling apart and uninhabitable, the state has not agreed to help pay for repairs.
"We have to do something drastic with that school besides fixing the plaster and changing the ceiling tiles," board Vice President Jim Gibson said.
Trustee Steve Lilly said he would like to see an objective study of the condition of the campus.
"The fact is, we can probably continue using Lincoln as it is, or close to the way it is," he said.
The district has already paid $3.1 million to design the dual magnet high school campus.
When the board meets again on June 14, trustees are expected to vote on a guaranteed maximum price for construction of the magnet campus, as well as a contract for modular classrooms.
Trustees Carol Herrera, Hubbard and Lilly have generally supported the district's plan for the magnet schools, while Trustees Jim Gibson and Stephen Guffanti have opposed the massive campus, calling it too expensive.
Both Gibson and Guffanti have said they think it would make more sense to build the magnet high schools on the Lincoln property.
On Monday, Gibson and Guffanti voted against approving the revised environmental impact report, which shows that the district has acknowledged the impact the campus will have on traffic and safety, but states it is not within its jurisdiction to make changes to any city roads.
The changes were required after a state appeals court decision last month questioned the impact the school will have on traffic in the area and students' safety.
The revisions aren't expected to have much of an impact on the $53 million project, district officials have said.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 631-6622 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
© 2006. Paid for and authorized by Cody Campbell for School Board 2006, FPPC ID# 1290192.