The Castaic High School debate continues...

It was previously reported that it would likely take until 2014 for the new Castaic High School to be built and ready for the new school year. This was based on the Hart School District's plans to build a super-cool site with all the bells and whistles - something that the Castaic residents would be proud of for years to come. This was to be a landmark school, with all possible amenities and state of the art buildings.

However, the more building costs go up and timeframes go down, the Hart School District will have to consider other viable options. One of these options, using prefab buildings, has already been sneered at because they're "too ugly" and certainly a far cry from the initial plans for a picture postcard-style campus.

But are all prefab buildings ugly? Not necessarily, but apparently the consultant who made the presentation to the Board used only the "ugly" ones to show how this could work. Bad decision on his part, but I'm sure that he can pull other drawings and examples together to change that "ugly" perception at least somewhat. Yeah, I know, prefab will never be quite as pretty as stick-built, but we're talking a high school here, not a beauty competition!

And which is more important: pretty buildings or a school for the Castaic and Val Verde area children to attend, instead of being shuttled all over the place to different Santa Clarita area high schools each year?

With all the issues including site delays and budget shortfalls, it would appear that Castaic High School will be a myth rather than a reality if everything continues as it has been, with the Stepford-style school rather than considering the option of the prefab buildings and other viable alternatives. Even if the land preparation is delayed somewhat, with prefab buildings they could be being put together offsite while the land is being prepared, where the standard construction process needs to be done in definite steps over a longer timeframe.

So, what will it be, Castaic? A functioning and decent-looking school made with mostly prefab buildings, or will you hold out for the Stepford-style school to be built sometime in the distant future? And what about the other schools that will be further impacted by overcrowding while the Castaic High School remains a figment of everyone's imagination?

Linda Slocum

SantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com