ORANGE : Forum Tonight on School Office Move
The Orange Unified School District will hold a neighborhood forum tonight to discuss plans to move the district’s administrative offices to the site of the former Katella Elementary School.
Supt. Norman C. Guith, Richard Donoghue, director of business services, and other staff members are expected to conduct a tour of the facility and to respond to community concerns about the proposed move.
The district must move its offices because the current headquarters at 370 N. Glassell St. does not meet earthquake safety standards.
But in two previous meetings on the matter, neighbors of the site have protested relocating the district offices to Katella Elementary, which closed in 1983 because of declining enrollment.
Parents have said the facility should be reopened as a neighborhood school.
Other residents complain that moving the district offices to their area would cause property values to decline and create traffic problems, among other concerns.
But Orange Unified officials consistently have said that moving the offices to Katella would be the quickest, most cost-effective choice for the district.
The gathering is expected to be the last public meeting before the school board considers the matter at its June 27 meeting.
The 7 p.m. forum will be at Katella Elementary, 1459 N. Handy St.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
