San Marcos, Calif., School Board Approves 11th School Site
By Brenda Duran, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
Feb. 28–SAN MARCOS — Construction plans for an 11th elementary school in the San Marcos Unified School District were given the green light Monday night by the board, despite environmental concerns contained in the final environmental impact report.
The board also approved construction designs for a new baseball field for Mission Hills High and the demolition of the Future Farmers of America site in the southeast corner of the San Marcos High campus.
The school board approved starting construction on a 22-acre site named the “Future Elementary No. 2″ at Oleander and Mimosa avenues in Vista. Before voting unanimously to start work on the site, the board discussed the potential impact construction might have on the wetlands and endangered plants in the area. The site has also been found to be a unrecorded site sacred to American Indians, according to the environmental report done by Dudek & Associates Inc., an engineering and planning firm in Encinitas.
Community members were given the opportunity to view the report in early February, but no one other than the board members raised concerns.
“I’ve never seen a site come with so many problems,” said board member Mary Borevitz.
Katherine Tanner, director of facilities and planning for the district, told the board her office has hired both an archeologist and a paleontologist to be on site when construction begins in October to make sure grading does not interfere if fossils, pottery shells or human remains are found in the area.
“We will consider capping off the site, if this is the case,” said Tanner.
Borevitz also noted water issues addressed in the report, such as how to treat the open stream that runs across the site.
Tanner told the board that to address that issue, two 36-inch underground pipes will be installed to help carry the water out of the area. She also said biologists will be making sure there are no birds nesting in the surrounding eucalyptus trees before any of the trees are removed.
Sharon Jenkins, board president, also raised concerns about traffic and asked Tanner to further analyze the situation.
“For me, having been around to see six to seven schools built, there are an incredible number of problems,” said Borevitz, before the board gave final approval to the construction.
The Oleander site was a last resort for the district, and was the only one to meet state standards out of three other potential sites around the city, Tanner said.
The school site will serve more than 750 students once it is built.
In other business, the board took a first step toward building a new baseball field for Mission Hills High on property owned by Mission Hills Church north of the campus.
Superintendent Ed Brand told the board the baseball team at Mission Hills High currently uses the facilities at Woodland Park Middle school for its games and practices and is in need of a closer facility.
The board approved the development of design plans that will cost the district $30,000.
By the next board meeting, the actual costs for construction are expected to be presented for approval.
The board also approved demolishing the animal facility at the corner of Discovery Street and San Marcos Boulevard. The agricultural program will move to a new site on the upper campus.
“The current site does not meet the standards to properly serve our children,” said Brand.
The horticultural part of the agricultural program will be housed in a new $350,000 facility at San Marcos High beginning next school year, officials said.
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