SANTA ANA : ‘Space-Saver’ School Site to Be Bought

The governing board of the Santa Ana Unified School District has narrowly voted to buy property for its controversial “space-saver” school project.

The Board of Education voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to approve the $18.5-million purchase, with Trustees Robert W. Balen, Audrey Yamagata-Noji and Sal Mendoza in favor of the plan and Tom Chaffee and Rosemarie Avila opposed.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve come to a decision to be able to provide a very critically needed school for the children of this community,” Yamagata-Noji said. “I think it’s really an exciting opportunity.”

The negotiated purchase price is about $3.5 million less than the amount budgeted for the purchase and $500,000 less than the lowest of three appraised values for the property.

However, Avila and Chaffee opposed purchase of the site, located behind the Bristol Marketplace at 17th and Bristol streets, saying that another site could have been purchased for far less money.

“I think it’s a blatant disregard for the taxpayers’ money in light of the fact that we have two other (proposed sites), one for $6.6 million and one for $6.9 million,” Avila said.

However, Mike Vail, senior director of facilities, said the two alternative properties do not meet the state’s criteria for suitable space-saver sites.

The state’s space-saver program is intended enable school districts to build new campuses in crowded cities, such as Santa Ana. The program allows districts to apply for funds to build multistory schools in conjunction with existing commercial centers, parks or other unique sites.