School Site Decision Imperils Project by McDonnell Douglas

A decision by the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education to acquire land for a new high school adjacent to a proposed McDonnell Douglas facility has thrown the pending deal with the aerospace firm into jeopardy, officials said Wednesday.

An official of Santa Fe Land Improvement Co., which owns most of the land at both sites, said the firm is unwilling to proceed with the McDonnell Douglas transaction if the adjacent land is not developed for high-technology industry.

“A 40-acre high school in the middle of our industrial park is really not a compatible use,” said Jeffrey Gwin, a Santa Fe official. Gwin said that if 40 acres of the 110-acre tract is used for a high school, too little would remain for development as an industrial park.

‘A Dramatic Effect’

Bob Young, the executive vice president of MDC Realty, the real estate arm of McDonnell Douglas, said the decision by the school board to acquire the site “obviously has a very dramatic effect on the entire project.”

“We have just been informed by Santa Fe that they do not intend to proceed with the sale if the school board takes the site. We would be back to square one if they were not to continue with their previous agreement.”

City Manager Robert C. Bobb was rebuffed by the board Tuesday night when it ignored his request for a delay and voted to proceed with the acquisition.

“The board doesn’t understand the magnitude of the McDonnell Douglas project,” Bobb said Wednesday. “It will be the largest high-tech industrial complex in Orange County.”

Board member James E. Ward said Bobb has shown “an adamant attitude that their (the city’s) solution is the only solution. The manager has harangued us about not being concerned with the community or safety.”

Ward said the board might reconsider and would “gladly listen to input from Santa Fe, McDonnell Douglas or the city about a better site,” he said.

The City Council has scheduled an emergency, closed-door meeting today at noon, after which the city’s “administrative strategy” will be unveiled, Bobb said.

Councilman Wilson B. Hart said the City Council recognizes the need for a new high school site “to be acquired at a reasonable cost at the location that best serves the community.” But, he continued, that must be accomplished “by disturbing the business community and business opportunities as little as possible.”

Job Potential Noted

Noting that city officials expect the McDonnell Douglas high-technology facility to provide between 1,500 and 4,000 jobs and “do in terms of image what Fluor (Corp.) did for Irvine,” Hart said the “very significant opportunity that McDonnell Douglas offers us can’t be treated lightly.”

The site chosen Tuesday for the school, in the 1800 block of South Grand Avenue on the east side of the street, was one of five under consideration. On several occasions, the board delayed making a selection pending further study. Last month, the board and its staff had said the South Grand Avenue site was too distant from the students the school is intended to serve.

Board Vice President Sadie Reid said the board preferred a site farther north at 1400 S. Grand Ave., part of which is owned by Santa Fe and part of which is county property. “The problem is, nobody wants to give up their space,” she said. “We’re willing to negotiate with the county--with the support of the city.”

Board President Joan Wilkinson said the board really had no choice when all the options were considered. The site the city urged the board to select, on the northwest corner of Grand and McFadden avenues, was “out of the question” because of its estimated $40-million cost, she said. The site the board selected will cost about $20 million, Wilkinson said.

Bobb called a high school “totally incompatible with the (industrial) uses in that area.” McDonnell Douglas spokesman Young said the board members “couldn’t have picked a worse site if they tried.”

“Whether the two could live together is academic, since Santa Fe is adamant in refusing to go ahead with the project if the school board takes that action,” Young said. Because of the firm’s time constraints, he said, McDonnell Douglas would be forced to relocate the project to another city.

Statement Challenged

Wilkinson said the firm’s position disturbed her. “I don’t know why a high school in that vicinity would jeopardize the (McDonnell Douglas) project. If Santa Fe said it was an incompatible use of land, well, that’s a perception that has to be challenged,” she said.

Henry Heydt, a spokesman from the California Department of Education--which is financing the project--said chances are remote that the state would pay $40 million when a $20-million site is available.

On Tuesday, the board also hired architects Ralph Allen & Partners, a Santa Ana firm, to design the new school. Construction could begin as early as next year, Assistant Supt. Anthony Dalessi said, with its opening projected for fall, 1988. The size of the school, its name and curriculum have yet to be decided. The total project is expected to cost between $35 million and $40 million, Dalessi said.

Enrollment Soaring

The Santa Ana Unified School District, the fastest growing in Orange County, is expected to surpass neighboring Garden Grove Unified in size in 1987. The situation in Santa Ana contrasts sharply with that in several other central county districts, which face declining enrollments and are closing schools.

Enrollment, which was 28,700 five years ago, now stands at 35,200 and is projected to climb to almost 40,000 by 1990. Each of the district’s three regular high schools was built to accommodate 2,200 students, but Santa Ana High School has 2,800 and Saddleback High School 2,700. Valley High School is at capacity.