COUNTYWIDE : Development Site Disputed by Schools

Officials in the Irvine and Santa Ana school districts are clashing over which agency should control the 50-acre site of the proposed Irvine Business Complex.

Earlier this month, the two agencies agreed that parents who move into apartments and condominiums at the complex will be able to send their children to the school of their choice.

The developer of the complex has asked that the site be transferred from the Santa Ana Unified School District to the Irvine Unified School District because the Irvine district’s schools are closer, said Corinne Loskot, a coordinator for Irvine Unified.

But Santa Ana Unified Supt. Rudy Castruita has sent a letter to the Board of Education opposing the transfer, saying it would “set a dangerous precedent” because it allows developers to make decisions about education.

Irvine Unified supports the transfer, which was proposed by Mola Development Corp. of Huntington Beach and Forest City Properties of Los Angeles. Loskot said that if the transfer is approved, the Irvine district would gain about $1 million in developer fees now earmarked for the Santa Ana district.

Although the developer fees will be awarded to the district which has jurisdiction over the area, both districts stand to gain $3,200 from the state for each student that attends their schools. Santa Ana officials said there would be about 150 students living in the proposed development.

The 50-acre site, bounded by Jamboree Road to the west, Carlson Avenue to the east, Campus Drive to the south and Michelson Drive to the north, is in Irvine, but also within the boundaries of the Santa Ana school district.

The Orange County Committee on School District Reorganization postponed its scheduled public hearings on the land transfer in each of the districts until Tuesday.

A hearing will take place at 7 p.m. at the Santa Ana board room, 1405 French St. in Santa Ana. Another hearing will be at 8 p.m. at the Irvine board room, 5050 Barranca in Irvine, according to Board of Education spokeswoman Judy Bolton.

The committee will have about four months to make a decision. If the committee decides to transfer the land and Santa Ana does not appeal, the transfer will be put to a vote of both cities’ residents at the next regular election, possibly as soon as June, Bolton said.