Development, Schools Topics of Meeting

In a rare joint meeting tonight, the City Council and school board will discuss the need for new schools in a rapidly growing city.

About 50% of the city has been developed and residential projects are planned in the northern and southern sections that will require construction of schools.

“There are a lot of issues for us related to growth,” said Dennis M. Smith, superintendent of the Irvine Unified School District. “There’s a lot of demands for the few dollars that we have available.”

The district has secured state funding in the past to build schools in conjunction with developer agreements and assessment districts.

But state school building funds are depleted. Even if a $3-billion statewide bond measure for schools and universities is approved by voters March 26, the 21,700-student district would not be at the top of the funding list, Smith said.

The developer agreements that have helped pay for Irvine school construction also prevent the district from getting a priority ranking for state funding, according to school board member Tom Burnham.

“We would be a low priority to ever receive money,” he said.

District officials are meeting with the Irvine Co. to plan for new schools in new development areas. Burnham said the district should be able to accommodate a growing population “as long as the density doesn’t get out of hand.”

Councilman Greg Smith, a former school board member, said the Irvine Co.’s planned development in the southern section of the city near MacArthur Boulevard and Ford Road is of special concern.

“We need to address questions about how that area is going to be developed,” Smith said, “so when the homes are built, there will be a school ready.”