District Pleased by Land-Sale Offers

School district officials are sorting through an “encouraging” number of offers to purchase a 3.5-acre school site.

They are counting on the sale of land at 31 W. Yale Loop in Woodbridge to fund $500,000 in maintenance projects and build a theater at Woodbridge High School.

The land was previously estimated to be worth $2 million to $4 million. Irvine Unified School District Supt. Dennis M. Smith declined to speculate on the selling price.

“When we opened up the bids and determined what the fair market value was in the eyes of the bidders, we were very pleased with the results,” Smith said. “We’re examining the top three to four offers and we’re planning in-depth interviews with potential buyers.”

Most of the bidders want to build homes on the property, he said.

An international preschool and school district offices are currently located at the site, housed in portable buildings. The property cannot be developed until after the June 1997 deadline for current tenants to vacate.

The first $500,000 from the sale will fund the top projects on the district’s $14-million “unfunded priorities” list, such as roof repair, playground equipment and parking lot modifications.

School board members in March authorized spending up to $1.3 million from the sale on construction of a theater for Woodbridge High School. A lecture hall converted into a makeshift theater at the high school about 10 years ago was closed by county fire inspectors last year because of safety code violations.

Remaining funds from the sale are expected to go toward construction of a second gymnasium at Irvine High School.