School With a Homey Future : Built for Easy Convertibility

On Monday, James Foster Elementary School in Saugus will open new classrooms for 200 lucky children who have been taking lessons in overcrowded trailers.

But one day in the future, the new school buildings could become condominiums for retirees, executives or anyone else looking for a home in the booming Santa Clarita Valley.

In other words, the newest school in Saugus is a “convertible.”

Plumbing and electricity have been installed in the classrooms so that, with a few minor changes, they can become 16 three-bedroom condominiums or apartments with patios.

“If they’re converted to apartments, the bathrooms are already here,” principal Ted Blankenship said Thursday as he stood in an indoor activity area connected to four classrooms. Opening the bathroom door, Blankenship revealed new tile floors and a rather large toilet. “Everything is big because they’re made for adults,” he explained.

Hedge Against Closure

School officials and an Agoura Hills architectural firm came up with the novel design so the Saugus Union Elementary School District won’t be left with a white elephant if declining school enrollment one day forces the school to close, said assistant superintendent Arthur Clark.

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, declining enrollments forced districts throughout the state to close schools and sell unused property, Clark said. State officials said the convertible school, built at a cost of $4.1 million, is most likely the first of its kind in California.

Clark said that if the district no longer needed the school, the ready-to-convert buildings would increase the value of the property. A developer would complete the conversion, creating condominiums or apartments on what Clark called “a choice piece of real estate” on a hill overlooking the Santa Clarita Valley.

Given the population boom in Santa Clarita, Clark said it would probably be 20 or 30 years before any conversion would be necessary. Still, Clark said the convertible school would be a safety valve against unexpected demographic changes.

“You could have an economic downturn,” he said. “We saw a decline in population after the Sylmar earthquake. Those kinds of factors you can’t predict.”

Large Windows

Making condominiums out of classrooms is easier than it looks, explained Arnie J. Brandt, an architect with Cal Foster and Associates of Agoura Hills, which designed the school. The school has 18 classrooms of about 960 square feet each. That is enough room for 16 three-bedroom condominiums or 32 two-bedroom apartments. And each classroom already has large windows and opens onto a small patio or atrium.

“You just put some walls in,” he said. “There’s plenty of glass. You just borrow the light from those windows to service your bedrooms.”

Brandt said the school could also be converted into senior housing, with the library and cafeteria transformed into a recreation center.

Tom Fehr of the state Office of Local Assistance, which funds public school construction, said that in the past few years districts have been trying to use land more efficiently. Most, however, have opted for portable classrooms that can be moved off the property if a school is closed.

Enrollment Growing

During the past three years, the Saugus school district hasn’t been able to build schools fast enough to keep up with growth. Enrollment is growing about 7% a year, district officials said.

Seco Canyon Elementary, a “relocatable” school made up of trailers, opened three years ago. Bouquet Canyon Elementary, another school made up of trailers, is scheduled to open in September.

Foster Elementary will be the only “convertible” school, however, because the site is a choice location for residential construction.

About 200 students will begin classes at Foster Elementary School next week and another 400 will arrive when the regular school year begins in September. By then, Clark said enrollment will have risen past the capacity of 630. Two trailers will be parked on the new playground to serve as temporary classrooms, he said.

Besides the ability to be converted into condominiums or apartments, the new school has several other unusual features.

Versatile Stage

The auditorium has a stage that can be used indoors or can swing outside into a courtyard and serve as an outdoor bandstand. Mauve carpets line the floors and the doors are painted burgundy--colors designed to soothe young students. Traditional chalkboards have been replaced with porcelain boards--teachers will use colored markers to write, eliminating chalk dust.

All classrooms have flexible white vinyl wallpaper that can be used as bulletin boards. On Thursday, teachers used push pins to mount decorations in their rooms.

“This is the Cadillac of schools,” said Jim Bastian, who teaches third and fourth grades. “A school like this makes it easy to teach.”

A few parents and children also toured the school Thursday, including 5-year-old Jennifer Levasseur. Although her kindergarten classes won’t start until September, she couldn’t resist the temptation to explore.

“She was so excited she had to come and snoop,” said her mother, Kim Levasseur. “She asks me every day when she’s going to school.”