Yerba Buena school finally on track

Delays are over, construction is
set to begin
By Stephanie Bertholdo
bertholdo@theacorn.com

After four years of setbacks that included everything from confusion over where to place high voltage power lines to the discovery of toxic soil and the identification of an endangered owl, the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education last week accepted a bid to build the new Yerba Buena Elementary School.

The contract was awarded to S.C. Anderson, a Bakersfield construction firm, after the board of trustees and the LVUSD Citizens Construction Oversight Advisory Committee reviewed proposals from three qualified bidders. Anderson presented the lowest bid at $19.5 million.

The school is slated to open in 2007.

School officials expect to receive state funds totaling $15.4 million which, when combined with Measure R Funds targeted for school facilities, will be enough to cover the expected $33 million price tag of the school.

Audience members at the board meeting cheered after the board unanimously approved the contract.

"Finally, finally," said Board Member Pat Schulz. She said the four-years that it took to put the project out to bid was like a page from "Ripley’s Believe it or Not."

The school will be built on Reyes Adobe Road at the border between Agoura Hills and Westlake Village.

"This has been a long process, a painful process," said Gordon Whitehead, LVUSD board president. "Thank goodness here we are," he said.

Board Member Terilyn Finders second-guessed the school district’s decision not to buy property located near Costco in Westlake Village, and thanked the parents for their patience while the school district grappled with the Reyes Adobe site.

"I’m delighted that we’re at this place," Finders said.

Board Member Cindy Iser said the construction oversight committee was instrumental in moving the project forward.

According to Yerba Buena parent Jim Friedl, "This (school) is an investment in our future and also a gift to Lindero."

Lindero Canyon Middle School is located next to the current Yerba Buena Elementary School on Larboard Lane. Once the new school has been constructed, the middle school will be expanded.

Members of the Citizen’s Oversight Committee hope to meet with Ron Kaiser, Lindero principal, to discuss improvements to the campus for the 2005/2006 school year.