IRVINE : New Middle School Going High Tech

Building plans for South Lake Middle School have been revised in a move that will add an extra $235,000 to the project’s price and will provide the campus with high-tech capabilities.

The revisions will provide a computer network capable of supporting more than 200 terminals throughout the campus, said Lloyd Linton, director of construction for the Irvine Unified School District.

The changes will cause minor delays in completion of the Woodbridge village school, but Linton said it will be ready for students as planned this September.

“We should be sufficiently along to open up,” he said. “Some areas might not be totally done yet, but we will have enough done to handle the children.”

Landscaping work and the installation of some locks and door handles might have to be completed after students start school.

The 24-classroom, 65,000-square-foot campus is located on West Yale Loop next to South Meadow Elementary School. It cost about $8 million to build and will serve about 750 students.

District officials said the modification to the original building plans one day will make South Lake a “high-technology center” complete with computer workstations for students.

Officials said the computer system will allow students to retrieve information from a variety of databases. Finding the money to buy all the equipment needed for the center will probably take several years, Linton said.

A key modification in the school’s design involves converting a room near the library into a central plant for the computer center.

The school will open on Sept. 18.