PACOIMA : Vaughn School Buys Parcel for Expansion

In their continuing efforts to expand the campus, Vaughn charter school officials bought a nearly 8,000-square-foot property Thursday for $132,000. Escrow will open Monday, officials said.

Vaughn, the San Fernando Valley’s first charter school, is seeking to build 12 classrooms, extra rooms for counselors and restrooms on two properties. The school already bought a smaller parcel adjacent to the new land for $80,000.

Owners of the new property at 13253 Eustace St. were asking $169,000. Vaughn Principal Yvonne Chan, who announced in the spring that the school has saved $1.2 million in its first year as a charter campus, said she believes both sides were flexible and agreed on a fair price.

The expansion, Chan said, “will change the whole look of the school. We’ll landscape it beautifully. With two properties, we can get more space for our teachers and our kids.”

The Pacoima school is the first in the Los Angeles Unified School District to buy land and build classrooms.

Ultimately, Chan said she would like to switch from a multitrack year-round system to a more traditional school calendar. The additional classrooms will enable all teachers to have their own classrooms and reduce the need for sharing space.

Chan also said she would like to create a special academic program at the school for urban studies--similar to a magnet--but the campus first needs the additional space.

Under the charter school law, campuses operate independently from school districts and are allowed to seek waivers of state and federal laws.