March 2003

Ran: North County Times - Friday, March 21, 2003

New school breaks ground in Carmel Valley

By: Adam Kaye

CARMEL VALLEY - The five-year struggle to secure a school site came to a tangible end on Thursday as Solana Beach School District officials broke ground for a sixth school.

Superintendent Ellie Topolovac said getting the property was hard work.

"In front of us is this dirt pile," she said, motioning to the mound that officials would ceremoniously scoop. "It's symbolic of the beginning of construction. It also is a symbol of the mountain we have climbed."

Several promising school sites were considered and rejected because of environmental problems.

And the site finally chosen by the school district - 9.7 acres adjoining Carmel Valley Library on Townsgate Drive - did not come without heated school board meetings and an eminent domain lawsuit.

That tension was absent Thursday, as superintendents and trustees from neighboring school districts exchanged congratulations in the crowd of 140.

"We've got the property and look forward to building a school," said Joel Small, school board president.

Construction could begin as soon as today, Topolovac said. A construction trailer already is parked on the flat, fenced, $19.5 million school site.

Topolovac announced a fall 2004 opening date for the school, which is estimated to cost $10 million.

She also announced Solana Highlands School Principal Brian McBride will be the new school's principal.

A combination of state funds and local tax levies will pay for what officials call School No. 6. Because no local bond money will pay for the project, the school district is not required to form a citizens oversight committee to monitor the construction budget. "The entire community is the oversight committee," Topolovac said.

While funding for the project has been secured, a question mark hangs over what the school will be called and which grades it will serve. Officials have leaned toward opening the 550-student school for fifth and sixth grades only. The school board will make that decision by the end of the current school year, Topolovac said.

Another question is whether Pardee Homes can wrestle more money for the acreage it relunctantly released in February.

In December, the school district filed a lawsuit against Pardee to acquire the land through eminent domain. Simultaneously, the school district deposited $19.5 million - that's $2.1 million an acre - into an account overseen by the court.

Pardee withdrew those funds in February, in effect releasing its ownership of the property and waiving any right to protest, said attorney Scott Noya, who represents the school district.

"But they're not precluded from claiming it's worth more," he said. No court date is set to argue about the price and no Pardee official spoke at the groundbreaking.

An upbeat official at the meeting was Carmel Creek School Principal Dorothea Wilson.

Carmel Creek and Solana Highlands schools are buckling under record enrollments and both need to schedule three lunch periods because of overcrowding.

"It's exciting," Wilson said of the groundbreaking. "It really is. We are overcrowded. When this school opens, it will be a celebration."

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