Pollution May Sink Santa Ana School Site

A piece of land at the former Tustin Marine base that triggered a bitter showdown between Tustin and Santa Ana officials this year could be too contaminated for use as a school, according to environmental tests.

The news comes as a blow to plans by the Santa Ana Unified School District to build a combined elementary and middle school on the 22-acre site.

District officials said Tuesday that they hadn’t completely reviewed an analysis of soil and gas samples taken in August. The findings will be discussed at the district’s Oct. 8 meeting. The board must formally decide whether to reject the land.

However, the property definitely is contaminated, district Supt. Al Mijares said. The state allows schools to be built only on pristine land.

“We’ve always said we didn’t have the money or the time to ameliorate contamination,” Mijares said.

Tustin City Manager William A. Huston said the Navy cleaned the property to federal standards before it was released. He said the district can reject the property no matter how much contamination under state standards is found.

“If it costs one dollar to clean up and they don’t want to do it, that’s fine,” he said.

The loss of the property would return Santa Ana Unified to square one in its search for a school site.

The district is among the most crowded in the state and faces a shortage of usable land. School officials hope to build six elementary schools and three high schools in the next seven years. Those plans, however, have encountered opposition from some neighborhood groups worried about traffic and noise.

The latest news comes amid other district worries over its agreement with Tustin. In addition to the land deal, the plan calls for the city to pay the district $38 million. The city would pay another $22 million if the land is rejected. The money would be paid over time.

Tustin also pledged to give the Santa Ana district a letter of credit that could be used for an immediate loan to fund construction.

Tustin officials, however, have said they cannot provide a letter of credit. Instead, they propose giving the district a deed of trust for about 100 acres of base land.