Schools

School Board Tackles Deteriorating Conditions at San Clemente High

The district only has $6.2 million to spend on a campus that has nearly $60 million in needs.

Originally published 12:57 p.m. June 27, 2013

With few funds, the Capistrano Unified school board discussed Wednesday what to do about deteriorating San Clemente High School, and agreed that after taking care of urgent safety needs, a new show-stopping addition, like a new pool, would be nice.

In 2009, an architect commissioned by the district discovered the aging campus could use $57.5 million in improvements. The number includes $28.3 million in projects that would replace portable classrooms and add amenities, such as a new performing arts center, pool and science and computer lab.

But right now, the district only has about $6.2 million to tap into, said board President John Alpay, who asked the item be placed on the agenda. That money comes from special taxes Talega residents pay.

In a few short years, when La Pata Avenue punches through all the way to San Juan Capistrano, Talega residents may opt for San Juan Hills, the district’s newest high school, over San Clemente, Alpay said.

“They’re going to flock, they’re going to go up La Pata north,” Alpay said.

With that in mind, he’d like to bring at least one world-class facility to the school, and a pool may not only fit the budget, it fits with the aquatic-minded community.

“We need a magnet, a signature program,” Alpay said.

Other trustees, however, urged the district to consider the safety issues first. For example, Trustee Anna Bryson – who described the school as "dilapidated and worn into the ground “ – noted roofs are leaking and fire alarms need to be replaced.

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Alpay said he hoped that after taking care of the safety needs, there would be sufficient funds leftover for a pool. He also said the district should explore partnering with the city to build a performing arts center.

Trustee Jim Reardon suggested that if Talega parents did send some of their students to San Juan Hills, that may turn San Clemente’s upper campus, which currently serves mostly ninth-graders, into surplus property the district could sell to raise more money for the school.

“If the campus is really two campuses glued together in an untenable way, maybe it’s time to tear them apart,” Reardon said. 


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