IRVINE : Two New Schools to Open in 1998

The biggest school district investor in the collapsed Orange County investment pool is back in the school-building business.

After surviving the threat of bankruptcy, Irvine Unified School District trustees recently approved plans for a new elementary school in Westpark Village and a high school in north Irvine to open in fall of 1998.

District officials anticipate years of steady enrollment growth in the 21,700-student district.

The school district originally planned to open both the elementary school in Westpark and a new high school in north Irvine in fall of 1997.

But losses from the district’s $107 million on deposit in the county investment pool made it financially impossible to open the planned schools.

Irvine Unified had more money in the investment pool than any other school district.

The school district was in danger of defaulting on $54.5 million worth of bond debt due last month.

But funds generated by the county settlement agreement and a short-term loan from the Irvine Ranch Water District helped the district repay the bond debt and restore its credit rating.

The district’s credit worthiness is essential to secure funding for new school construction, school board President Tom Burnham said.

“We were worried that if we defaulted on those loans, our ability to build new schools would be inhibited,” Burnham said. “This could have been a huge catastrophe for the school district.”

As residential development continues in the city, district facilities planner Corinne Loskot said Irvine Unified is planning for seven additional elementary schools and a middle school to open within the next decade.

“That’s as far as we can see right now,” Loskot said. “We will continue to grow each year.”