TUSTIN : Unneeded School Sites to Be Discussed

The Tustin Unified School District is considering whether to sell or lease two school sites and three other properties the district no longer needs, officials said.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday to get community opinion and to comply with state law requiring that the public be informed before school properties are sold, district Supt. David L. Andrews said.

“The decision to sell or lease these sites is very important to the community because it affects the educational programs of all our students,” Andrews said.

A citizen advisory committee on surplus property, which was created last November, will conduct the public hearing in the board room of the District Administration Center, 300 S. C St.

After the hearing, the advisory committee will recommend to the Board of Education what action to take, Andrews said.

Andrews said that the surplus properties are Red Hill and Guin Foss elementary schools, a portion of Lambert School, the district administration site and the district’s maintenance center.

The 10-acre Red Hill School, at 11911 Red Hill Ave., has been closed for the past 15 years; Guin Foss School, on a 10-acre lot at 18492 Vanderlip Ave. in Santa Ana, has been closed since 1982.

Also under consideration are three to five acres of land at Lambert School, 1151 S. C St.; the 2 1/2-acre administration center site and the 1 1/2-acre maintenance operations center.

Andrews said he prefers to sell the properties. “No one has been knocking on our doors to lease them,” he said.

He said the district needs money for school maintenance and to build a fourth middle school.

“We’re short by more than $1.5 million to open the middle school in 1994,” Andrews said.

He said that part of the proceeds from the sale or lease would be used to consolidate district operations in one location. Currently, district offices are housed at three sites. “We want to put them all under one roof,” Andrews said.

Tustin Unified School District serves a 23-mile area, including Tustin and parts of Santa Ana. The district, with an enrollment of 11,800, has 10 elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools.