Opening of New Santa Ana High School Delayed

Delays in equipment installation and building inspections have pushed back the scheduled opening of Santa Ana’s newest school, Cesar Chavez High, until Sept. 19, administrators said Wednesday.

The alternative school’s $2-million construction contract calls for work to be completed by November, according to Diane Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Santa Ana Unified School District. But officials had hoped the campus at 2128 S. Cypress Ave. would be ready by today, the first day of school.

“Everybody wanted it to happen, but there were just some glitches,” Thomas said. Telephones have not been installed, and the fire alarm, sprinkler and security systems are not ready, she said. “All the permits need to be taken care of,” said Principal Antonio Espinosa, “and we need to make sure everything’s running and up to specs with the contractor and the district.”

The 80 students enrolled at Chavez High will temporarily attend classes at the Regional Occupational Program campus at 1815 Ritchey St. in Santa Ana.

Attending a groundbreaking ceremony at Chavez High last year were the widow and son-in-law of the late labor leader for whom the school is named.

Cesar Chavez, who died last year at age 66, was dedicated to nonviolent protest. He is best known for leading massive grape boycotts in the 1960s to dramatize the plight of America’s farm workers.

The 2.2-acre campus is the first in California to bear Chavez’s name, Thomas said. The school contains 17,700 square feet of classroom, library and lab space, and can accommodate up to 500 students. It is Santa Ana Unified’s 44th school.

Thomas said Chavez High will take a different approach to education than the district’s other alternative campus, Mountain View Continuation School. Students are eligible to attend either school. Among the offerings at Chavez will be a teen parent program to encourage young mothers to stay in school. The campus will also reach out to the business community, Thomas said, to develop internship and other work-related programs for students.