HUNTINGTON BEACH : Schools Below Safety Standard Shored Up

Work crews are scheduled this week to finish shoring up partitions in several school classrooms that are structurally unsound and do not meet state earthquake standards.

The temporary remedies at four Ocean View School District schools will remain in place until permanent walls can be installed for the next school year beginning in September.

The affected schools--College View, Golden View, Mesa View and Vista View--were built during the 1960s and 1970s with single-room buildings that are divided into classrooms. In the past 10 years, prefabricated partitions have been added to separate the rooms.

During a recent inspection of the buildings, officials discovered that the panels do not meet state earthquake standards.

The worst problems are at Vista View School. The partitions in many Vista View classrooms are connected to artificial beams that are not secured to the ceiling or designed to support walls, according to an engineering report.

“There is no immediate danger, but in a very severe earthquake, it would be a greater risk than we want to take,” said Monte McMurray, the district superintendent.

As a temporary solution, crews are replacing the partitions with boards that will be anchored on each side by three-foot-wide cupboards.

Although the partitions at College View, Golden View and Mesa View schools are connected to floors and ceilings, they still do not meet state codes. The panels are being reinforced until the permanent walls are installed.

Besides the four schools, at least seven of Ocean View’s 11 other schools need permanent walls to replace existing partitions, officials say. The structural deficiencies at those schools are not as severe, however.

District officials have not yet estimated how much it will cost to install the permanent walls. Within a month, cost estimates and design plans for the new walls will be determined, McMurray said.