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SADDLEBACK / SOUTH BEACH : SADDLEBACK VALLEY : Schools With Private Funding Open First

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Officials in the Saddleback school district are finding that when private developers and homeowners pay, new schools get built. When the state pays, construction waits.

Two new elementary schools were scheduled to open in the fall, but only the one paid for directly by local residents will open on time, officials say.

Construction on Eastlake II Elementary in Rancho Santa Margarita is expected to begin this month, paid for by a special school tax in that neighborhood. Construction of Pittsford Elementary in El Toro, to be paid for by the state, is on hold until state money is available.

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More than $75 million in new elementary schools and an intermediate school are planned for opening in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District by 1994. Most will be paid for directly by the residents who live in new housing developments and pay a special school tax as part of their property tax.

The tax district was established in an agreement with the area’s home builder, the Santa Margarita Co., before residents moved into the new community, said Bill Manahan, the district’s business director. To provide schools, the school board sold bonds, which will be paid off through the additional tax to community residents. The tax charged to each depends on the value of the property.

Schools paid for by the state are on hold because money from a $400-million school bond approved by California voters in 1988 ran out in July. With $700 million in school buildings waiting to be funded statewide, the state may ask voters to approve a $1-billion school bond next year, Manahan said.

NEW SADDLEBACK VALLEY SCHOOLS TO OPEN BY 1994

* EASTLAKE II ELEMENTARY

Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, Avenida de los Fundadores.

Open: September, 1990.

Cost: $5.5 million in Mello-Roos funds.

Students Now Attend: Trabuco Mesa Elementary.

* FOOTHILL RANCH ELEMENTARY

Location: Foothill Ranch development, north of Trabuco Road, west of El Toro Road, adjacent Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro.

Open: September, 1991.

Cost: $10.7 million in Mello-Roos funds.

Students Now Attend: No students at present.

* NELLIE GAIL ELEMENTARY

Location: Nellie Gail Ranch, bounded by Red Corral Road, Mustang Drive, and Nellie Gail Road.

Open: September, 1991.

Cost: $7 million in developer fees and proceeds from the sale of a portion of the property.

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Students Now Attend: Lomarena, Valencia and Linda Vista elementary schools.

* PITTSFORD ELEMENTARY

Location: El Toro, Pittsford and Northcrest drives.

Open: Originally scheduled September 1990. Opening date now contingent on state funding.

Cost: $6.5 million in local developer fees and matching state funds.

Students Now Attend: Cordillera and De Portola elementary schools.

* PORTOLA HILLS ELEMENTARY

Location: Portola Hills development, Saddleback Ranch Road.

Open: September, 1991.

Cost: $4.3-$7.3 million in Mello-Roos funds.

Students Now Attend: Del Cerro Elementary School.

* SOUTH VILLAGE ELEMENTARY

Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, between Santa Margarita Parkway and Trabuco Creek.

Open: September, 1994.

Cost: $10.4 million.

Students Now Attend: No students projected till 1993.

* TRABUCO HIGHLANDS ELEMENTARY

Location: Trabuco Highlands development, Lindsay Drive, Trabuco Canyon.

Open: September, 1991.

Cost: $11.2 in Mello-Roos and developer fees.

Students Now Attend: Trabuco Elementary.

* RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA INTERMEDIATE

Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, bounded by Alma Aldea and Santa Margarita Parkway.

Open: September, 1991.

Cost: $22.3 million in Mello-Roos funds.

Students Now Attend: Los Alisos and Serrano intermediate schools.

Source: Saddleback Valley Unified School District

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