COUNTYWIDE : Education Officials Reject Land Transfer

Rejecting a developer’s argument that a land transfer would be best for students, county education officials overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to transfer control of a vacant 50-acre parcel of land from the Santa Ana Unified to the Irvine Unified School District.

Audrey Yamagata-Noji, a Santa Ana Unified board member, said she was “very pleased” with the decision. She and other district officials had expressed concern that approving the developer’s request would set a “dangerous precedent” and encourage other developers who are now considering similar plans.

After two public hearings on Tuesday night, one in each school district, the county Committee on School District Organization voted 9 to 1 against the transfer, with only committee chairman Roger Belgen voting for it. Had the committee approved the petition, an election would have been held and a vote by residents of both districts would have decided the issue.

The 50-acre parcel, the site of the Irvine Business Complex, is bounded by Jamboree Road to the west, Carlson Avenue to the east, Campus Drive to the south and Michelson Drive to the north. The land is in Irvine, but also within the boundaries of the Santa Ana Unified district.

Los Angeles-based Forest Hill Properties and Huntington Beach-based Mola Development Corp., which are building apartments and condominiums there, requested the transfer. But Santa Ana school officials argued that the loss of students, control of property and related revenue that would have occurred under a land swap could have cost the financially strapped district millions of dollars each year.

During the hearings, Hardy Strozier, a spokesman for Forest Hill Properties, rejected Santa Ana district officials’ claim that the developers were motivated by the possibility that the property would be worth more if it were moved within the Irvine Unified School District, which has higher average test scores and a considerably smaller low-income population.

He also denied suggestions that “developers are trying to pull a fast one. We are not. Really what we’re asking for is an election.”

However, committee member Barbara Lyen said before the vote that an election would not be necessary because the residents already elected their school board members to make such decisions.

A student transfer agreement between the two districts approved this month will allow families who move to the development to request that their children be educated in Irvine Unified schools. That agreement will remain effective until June 30, 1993.