PLACENTIA/YORBA LINDA : Panel Backs Closing at Least One School

An advisory committee on school attendance boundaries is recommending that at least one elementary school in Placentia be closed and that two new school sites be found in Yorba Linda.

The committee, which has been studying attendance boundaries in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District since last June, made its recommendations in a report presented at a public meeting Wednesday night. About 300 people attended.

The committee’s report was divided into 10 scenarios. In six scenarios dealing with elementary schools, the committee recommended closing Placentia’s Topaz Elementary, which is predominantly Latino. Moving Topaz’s students to other nearby schools would help the district achieve racial balance at those schools, the committee said.

The committee also presented scenarios that include closing Brookhaven Elementary and Wagner Elementary, both in Placentia.

According to committee chairwoman Bonnie Drolet, closing a school would save money in operating costs and allow the district to generate revenue through lease or sale of the site.

Mike Bailey, director of facilities and planning, said closing a school could save the district about $250,000 per year. The cost of shifting students to another school would be limited to such one-time expenses as purchasing portable classrooms.

The audience applauded several of the committee’s recommendations. But while there was a constant buzz of questions about when the boundary changes might occur, there were no protests or angry comments.

The committee recommended boundary adjustments for nearly all of the 19 elementary schools, five middle and junior high schools and three high schools serving the district’s 22,000 students. Under the various scenarios, Linda Vista, Glenview, Brookhaven, Rio Vista, Tynes, Topaz and Wagner elementary schools were each recommended to lose attendance areas.

The report also recommended shifting boundaries so that students at Van Buren Elementary attend Kraemer Junior High and Valencia High School. Currently, Van Buren students are divided between Valencia’s and El Dorado High’s attendance areas.

Parents at Valencia, which is 40% Latino, have pushed for boundary changes that would allow all of Van Buren’s students to attend Valencia, saying that the mostly white, middle-class students are needed to balance the high school’s ethnic distribution.

While the majority of the report dealt with attendance areas in Placentia and west Yorba Linda, the committee did address expected growth in east Yorba Linda. It recommended designating two new school sites in the north Fairmont area, which is expected to grow by 4,500 homes. The committee also suggested shifting Bryant Ranch students from Bernardo Yorba Junior High to the closer Travis Ranch Middle School.

District Supt. James O. Fleming said it will take several weeks for his staff to analyze the committee’s report. A study session is set May 4, when each scenario will be discussed in depth. The earliest the board of trustees is expected to vote is May 11.