Bargaining Sought on ‘Space Saver’ School : State Needs to Make Sure the 11-Acre Santa Ana Site Is Acquired at Reasonable Price

The Santa Ana Unified School District deserves credit for battling to win authorization to build the first experimental “space saver” school in California. But the state now must ensure it does not pay too much for the building.

Last month’s vote by the State Allocation Board approved the appraisal of an 11-acre site in Santa Ana’s Bristol MarketPlace shopping complex, where the school district wants to erect a three-story building, with the upper floors for intermediate school students and the bottom level for parking.

The concept of “space saver” schools is good. Rather than a sprawling, horizontal building on one level, the school stretches upward. Officials said it was designed especially for urban areas where space is tight and would allow building without the need to condemn someone’s property. Still, the legislation passed in the late 1980s but had not been used.

Before the vote, there had been doubt about the intentions of the Allocation Board, which disburses funds for school sites and construction. Board members expressed skepticism earlier this year about the estimated $43-million price for the property. A report by state real estate experts said the parcel would cost $40 a square foot compared to $8 to $15 per square foot at other sites.

School district officials countered that only the Bristol MarketPlace property met the state requirements for minimum space and numerous nearby students. They argued that the state encouraged the district to apply for the funds and warned the city that to pick a different site would risk forfeiting the money. The Allocation Board overrode the real estate report, saying it did not want to get caught up in a political dispute between the school district and residents near the proposed school.

But the board owed the public a more detailed explanation of why it felt the real estate experts were wrong, or why it decided to bypass them. Even the author of the “space saver” legislation, state Sen. Leroy L. Greene (D-Carmichael), said that while he voted for the project, it did not match the picture he had when he wrote the law.

State officials have approved $23 million for the project but said the final price tag for the property has not been decided. There is no doubt that Santa Ana schools have been facing a space crunch for years and the new building will help greatly, but that would not justify the state paying too much money. Hard bargaining is needed.