IRVINE : Schools Seek Voice on Future of Base

The Irvine Unified School District Board of Education has asked the county for a voice in determining the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which the district serves.

About 1,200 of the district’s 21,000 students come from the El Toro base, and the district gets about $5 million annually in state funds to serve the military dependents.

School officials warn that the district could be seriously affected by both the base closure and by whatever is built on the land afterward.

So board members on Tuesday directed Supt. David E. Brown to send a letter to County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley explaining the district’s views and requesting that school officials be part of any discussion about the base’s redevelopment.

The letter does not specifically ask that the district receive one of the seats on the county’s new commission on El Toro, but Margie Wakeham, board president, said she would be pleased if the county made such an offer.

“Ultimately, if the base closes, we stand to lose,” said board member Greg Smith. “It could have a significant impact on attendance levels. . . . We need to learn more about what the impacts could be.”

The district runs an elementary school on the base with an enrollment of 700. An additional 150 students from the base attend other elementary schools, and all those students move on to various middle schools and high schools in the district.

What effect the closure might have on the district varies widely, depending on what use is chosen for the site. Residential development on the base could mean an increase in enrollment that might require the construction of new schools and the hiring of more teachers.

But if the base is used for commercial development or as an airport, some schools might see a sharp decline in enrollment and the district might need to reduce the number of new teachers it hires.

Wakeham said that by being a part of the El Toro decision-making process, school officials can quickly react to the changing needs of the base’s students.