Lindero school expansion in the works

As the new Yerba Buena Elementary School in Agoura Hills/Westlake Village nears completion, the focus turns to the expansion and remodeling of the 40-year-old Lindero Canyon Middle School campus.

Lindero and Yerba Buena now share a campus in Agoura Hills. When students move to the new elementary school next year, work will begin on the middle school renovation.

Las Virgenes Unified School District officials conducted a community meeting at the school Nov. 6 to discuss construction details and timelines.

WLC Architects, a Rancho Cucamonga firm, was selected to design the Lindero project. The company has worked with the district before on jobs at Alice C. Stelle Middle School, Willow Elementary School, Indian Hills High School and others.

Robert Hensley of WLC presented a rough design to the 25 residents who attended the meeting. He said construction documents will take from six to eight months to complete and the school should be finished within three years.

The plan includes construction of a library media center with a bank of computers, comfortable furniture and an adjoining classroom. A new two-story science classroom and lab will be built, and the administration building will be "gutted and completely redone," Hensley said.

A new lunch area will allow students in all grade levels to eat at one time. The current lunch area will be expanded, and a separate area will be constructed for sixth-grade students. A covered walkway and courtyard is also planned.

The 5,000-square-foot multipurpose room will include a stage, and separate rooms for the school's band and strings group have been included in early design plans.

"The school should be able to seat the entire student body in two assemblies," said Donald Zimring, deputy district superintendent.

An area resident asked whether full concerts could be performed in the multipurpose room. Zimring said that although such a large room was not in the budget, performing arts centers were scheduled to be built at each of the high schools. The centers will be used by other schools and the community at large, he said.

Expanding the playing fields is also a top priority, officials said. The new fields are scheduled for completion during the final phase of construction.

A resident asked whether the less-cramped grounds would allow for reduced class sizes. The money, however, is earmarked for construction projects only. Class sizes will remain between 36 and 38 students.

"It's formula driven," Zimring said. Under Proposition 13, one teacher is allocated for every 31 students.

The driveway and parking area will be redone, and overflow parking will be available on the basketball courts.

Dealing with construction while school is in session will be a challenge, officials said. Don Blake of Team Concept Development Services will be responsible for day-to-day operation of the project.

He said barriers will be constructed as a partition. Unlike temporary fencing, partitions will be an added safety precaution for students. But noise, Blake said, is impossible to avoid. "Our job is to mitigate (noise) as much as possible," he said.

Zimring said that because the district is five years behind schedule on the Lindero project, today's students will have to suffer the inconveniences of construction without reaping any of its benefits.

"It's going to be a lengthy process," Superintendent Sandra Smyser said.