SANTA ANA : District Opposes Transfer of 50 Acres

The Santa Ana Unified School District has voted to oppose a developer’s request to transfer a 50-acre parcel of vacant land to the Irvine Unified School District, saying that the move would set a “dangerous precedent.”

On Tuesday the district board authorized Supt. Rudy M. Castruita to send a letter to the county Department of Education opposing the transfer. The letter contends that transferring the land “sets a dangerous precedent” because it would allow developers to make decisions about education and district boundaries that are best left to professional educators.

The 50-acre site, bounded by Jamboree Road to the west, Carlson Avenue to the east, Campus Drive to the south and Michelson Drive to the north, is in Irvine but also within the Santa Ana Unified School District’s boundaries.

Representatives of the Huntington Beach-based Mola Development Corp. and Los Angeles-based Forest City Properties, which requested the transfer, could not be reached for comment. The companies are developing the site for a 1,119-unit apartment and condominium complex.

Mike Vail, the school district’s senior director of facilities, said Santa Ana Unified stands to lose more than $1 million in developer’s fees if the land is transferred. Also, the district would lose the 152 students the complex is expected to generate. Since districts receive about $3,200 per student, the move would represent a potential loss of $500,000 in revenue.

However, Vail said the primary reason for opposing the plan is that “we don’t think developers ought to be making decisions on how children are educated.”

The Orange County Committee on School District Organization will hold two public hearings in each of the districts Dec. 11 to be immediately followed by a special meeting to consider the proposed transfer of territory.