SANTA ANA : Plans OKd for New Fundamental School

The school district board has approved plans for a new intermediate fundamental school, although questions remain concerning where the school will be built.

On Tuesday, the Santa Ana Unified School District board unanimously voted to designate Intermediate School No. 9 as a fundamental school.

Fundamental schools combine traditional instructional programs with strict dress and behavior rules and strong parental involvement. They are also extremely popular, so much so that parents routinely camp out on nights before registration days for the chance to enroll their children. The waiting list for students at MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate School, the only current fundamental intermediate school, includes 460 students, district officials said.

Where and when the new fundamental school will be built depends on whether the board approves a controversial plan to construct the campus as part of a $43-million “space saver” project. Under that proposal, which state officials have agreed to fund, the school would be built as an addition to the Bristol Market Place, said Mike Vail, senior director of facilities.

If the board approves that site, the new school could open by 1996.

The space saving school would include a three-story classroom building and be designed to conserve land. Space-saving schools are intended to provide an innovative way to eliminate the need to condemn property when building schools, Vail said.

The proposal has received enthusiastic support from some parents, but others have criticized the placement of a school at the shopping center.

The board will consider whether to approve the space-saver project at a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Feb. 1. The meeting will be held at Rancho Santiago College’s Phillips Hall, at 17th and Bristol streets.