Update

* Follow-up on the news

ROSSMOOR

Work Underway at Rush Park

Issue: Rush Park

Background: In 1991, the Rossmoor Community Services District bought the vacant Rush Elementary School for $4.2 million in hopes of converting the 8 1/2 acres into a park. The sale was delayed for two years when a resident challenged in court the district’s decision to sell bonds worth $5 million to pay for the site. The case reached the state Supreme Court, which ruled last year that the district could impose an annual $109 special tax on Rossmoor property owners to fund the bond issue.

Development: Work has begun to convert the school into a park. Officials of the district hired a construction firm last September to plant trees, remove a chain-link fence, asphalt and old baseball backstops and install a new irrigation system. The auditorium and office building of the old school have been kept, but three classrooms and the kindergarten building will be demolished. However, with just a little more than $300,000 left from the bond sale, officials said, other planned improvements to the park might have to be delayed.

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LA HABRA

Mary’s Home Stalled by Traffic Problem

Issue: Mary’s Home in La Habra

Background: Approval was given last year for construction of the temporary shelter for the homeless and for struggling families at a location behind Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. But the approval did not come without some conditions. One was that Mary’s Home must find a way to reduce traffic in the neighborhood before beginning to build.

Development: The traffic condition has been hard to comply with and is holding up construction. The shelter was scheduled to open earlier this year but Mary’s Home officials said they don’t know if it will ever be built.

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LOS ALAMITOS

Oak Middle School Might Be Reopened

Issue: Oak Middle School

Background: Last year, trustees of the Los Alamitos Unified School District designated the 23-acre school site as surplus property that may be sold or leased to a developer to pay for proposed improvements to district schools. Oak Middle School has been closed since 1986, but part of its campus is used by the Orange County High School of the Arts. Some parents oppose selling or leasing the school site.

Development: The school board is now considering reopening Oak Middle School to accommodate the school district’s growing number of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. McAuliffe Middle School, the district’s only middle school, now has more than 1,600 students. The problem is where to get the estimated $3.3 million needed to renovate Oak Middle School.