School Relocation Plans Put to the Test : Education: Redondo Beach officials encounter homeowner resistance as they seek ways to relieve overcrowded continuation classes.

Redondo Beach school officials are being put to the test in their efforts to relocate Redondo Shores, the continuation school that serves Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach students who are unable to attend other local high schools.

Officials, who have considered three sites, have met resistance from homeowners who don’t want the school in their neighborhoods.

Many residents think of Redondo Shores as a school for incorrigible students, an image school officials and students dispute. The school serves students who have fallen behind and need to make up missing credits to earn their high school diplomas.

“People always have the impression that these are bad kids, and they’re not,” said Donna Paulson, educational adviser for the school. “These are kids who need an alternative to finish their education.”

Since September, 1993, classes have been taught in trailers on a fenced-in parking lot behind Redondo Union High School.

The district has considered three options for the school: Keep it at the present site and build a larger facility, relocate to 320 Knob Hill in south Redondo Beach, or move to 525 Earle Lane in north Redondo.

Officials say they are still researching the cost for each of the options. Rebuilding at the current site would cost the district an estimated $250,000 a year for 25 years, Assistant Supt. Thomas Cox said.

Mary Laughton of Paulina Avenue is one of hundreds of residents who oppose the move. She says the school should remain where it is, adding that money could be used in better ways.

“That’s a lot of money to put out on students who, by their own actions, have chosen not to be in the mainstream,” Laughton said.

The current site was chosen as a temporary solution when the South Bay Union High School District was split into the Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach districts and the responsibility of the school was adopted by the Redondo Beach district. The school is overcrowded and has maintenance problems such as leaky windows.

Students attend Redondo Shores for a number of reasons, ranging from medical conditions to transferring into the district at mid-semester because of a move.

Senior Kristi Livingston, 18, entered Redondo Shores after a car accident left her behind in her schoolwork and short on credits. She was told the alternative school would be her only way to graduate on time.

“I think it’s ridiculous that people stereotype the kids here,” Livingston said. “We come here because we want to go to school and do better.”

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Livingston says her grades have improved because of the smaller classes at Redondo Shores. She plans a career in neonatal care and has already begun learning about the profession as a student nurse in the school’s work program.

Livingston is one of many students who participate in the Southern California Regional Occupation Center program, earning extra credits while learning about a trade or career.

Some students say being fenced-in makes them feel as if they are in prison.

Cox said officials are searching for a location where the school could have landscaping. “What we really want to do is develop an atmosphere so that they really have an identity as a school,” Cox said.