District to Reopen Elementary School at El Portal Site
Lowell Joint School District has decided to reclaim a site where a private school now stands.
Carden School is on property at 200 N. Nada St. that belongs to the Lowell district. The area was the site of El Portal Elementary School, a public school until 1975 when El Portal and Lowell Elementary in Whittier were closed because of low enrollment.
Carden signed a 21-year lease, which expires this year, to use the El Portal site. Carden officials are now negotiating to move the school to the Lowell Elementary site in Whittier, Carden Principal Carol Tracy said.
“We don’t have a choice, but we knew this was coming and we’re just glad there’s another campus for us to move to,” Tracy said.
Lowell district officials said enrollment in the La Habra area has been on the rise over the last five years, warranting the reopening of El Portal this fall.
Tracy said her school is refurbishing the Lowell Elementary site, which is 1 1/2 miles west of the La Habra site at 11537 Grovedale Drive. The campus will be ready to open in the fall, she said.
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