Plans to re-build parts of the Corona del Mar High School campus to create a section designed for middle school students drew mixed responses and a lot of questions at a PTA meeting held this morning on campus.
Deputy Superintendent Paul Reed gave a presentation about the plans for the so-called enclaves proposed for both Corona del Mar and Costa Mesa high schools. The projects would be funded by Measure F, which voters approved in 2005. Already Measure F has paid for the Robins-Loats project at Newport Harbor High School and the Tewinkle Middle School gym.
The next group of projects include a new theater and the creation of enclaves at CDMHS and at Costa Mesa, but the recession has delayed the issuance of the necessary bonds, Reed told the PTA members.
“We stalled,” he said. Now, however, he said there is hope the funding could become available by mid-2010, and the Board of Education voted to approve preliminary plans at its last meeting.
The plans include demolition of the underused Building 400, moving parking places (and adding 81 spots), moving the P.E. building by the football field and other work. The new 350-seat theater would the campus centerpiece, and the middle school enclave would be in the area near the front office’s current location.
Parents at the PTA meeting, however, said the enclave wouldn’t really keep middle school students isolated enough to warrant the headache and costs of the construction.
“These guys have to go all the way through high school land to get to P.E.,” said one member. Lunch, too, would not be segregated by age, nor would all classes.
“Rather than total immersion, it would be partial immersion,” Reed conceded.
Many parents said that the idea of middle school students on a high school campus seems frightening, but once students are in the school, the worries tend to fade. They also agreed that the middle school principal, Guy Olguin, has done a tremendous job in improving the identity and morale of the middle school.
Laura Boss, director of district communications, said she would set up a website this week that would show the plans and solicit input from parents.
The theater project likely would be the priority if funding permitted only part of the work to begin, Reed said. The current plan is for a 350-seat theater. But one parent said that wouldn’t be big enough to seat an entire class, which could be more than 400 students.
Reed again said that current plans are preliminary. He added that under the best circumstances, no construction would begin until late 2010, giving everyone plenty of time to weigh in.
