MISSION VIEJO : Boundaries OKd for New School

The Saddleback Unified School District Board of Education this week approved boundaries for the new Lake Forest Elementary School.

The board’s unanimous decision came after months of heated controversy that included several emotional public hearings attended by hundreds of parents.

“Any time that you make boundary changes, it’s difficult,” said Trustee Bobbee Cline. “It’s difficult because a lot of families have to make changes.”

The school, at 21801 Pittsford Drive, is scheduled to open in September. It will be the district’s 22nd elementary school.

The new school has a projected enrollment of between 865 and 889 students, most of which now attend Cordillera or DePortola elementary schools in Mission Viejo.

Students will also be coming from Montevideo Elementary School in Mission Viejo and Gates and Aliso elementary schools in Lake Forest, said Thomas Tullar, the district’s director of business services.

At public hearings held in January, many parents had told district officials that they were concerned about having too many students attending the school.

They said crowded conditions and use of portable classrooms could lead to traffic problems and have a negative effect on the quality of their children’s education.

“I would have liked to have seen them distribute students at surrounding schools so that Lake Forest isn’t the most impacted,” said parent Dodie Norberg. “I’m concerned with the quality of education at an over-enrolled school.”

In addition to regular permanent classrooms, the school will also have at least five portable classrooms to house students and an additional portable for child care, Tullar said.

Other parents had complained that the school’s enrollment area is too large and will require a hazardous walk to school from some homes across El Toro Road and Lake Forest Street.

Tullar said the district has asked the county to place at least five crossing guards along the major streets. He added that the 100 students who would have to cross El Toro Road could use a freeway underpass.

The district estimates that only between 60 and 80 students will have to be bused to the school, which was a major consideration in drawing its boundaries. The new boundaries will save the district about $80,000 in busing costs.

While there were critics, there were also parents who said they were just glad to have the school opening in their neighborhood, despite the crowded conditions, so their children can attend a school closer to home.

“There was a loud and clear message from the hearings for a lower amount of students at the school but there was also a message that we go with a higher number of students to accommodate all of the students who want to go there,” said Board President Raghu P. Mathur. “Considering both sides of the spectrum, I think the final decision makes sense.”