Newhall District to Get 2 New Schools

The Newhall School District spells relief: S-C-H-O-O-L-S.

And they’ll soon be getting two more of them in the community that has the district’s most crowded school, under an agreement reached between the Stevenson Ranch developer and the elementary school district.

The first new school will be situated on eight acres of land in the southern part of Stevenson Ranch, said Charlie Ware, manager of community affairs for the developer, Lennar Communities/Stevenson Ranch Venture. The second school will be in the northern part of Stevenson Ranch.

As part of the agreement of a new elementary school master plan, Lennar has also consented to build a temporary school facility expected to open next fall.

Although specifics still need to be hammered out, the agreement will help relieve the district’s most overcrowded campus, Stevenson Ranch Elementary, which now has 1,254 students on a multitrack, year-round system, said Supt. Marc Winger.

“It’s too big now and we’re expecting 200 more students next year,” Winger said about the only elementary school in the Stevenson Ranch area. “An elementary school should be about 750 kids at the most and we’re way beyond that now.”

The temporary school will house about 450 children in portable classrooms until the first permanent school is constructed, Winger said.

To build the interim school, the district will contribute $650,000 and Lennar will spend the balance of up to $2.4 million, according to Teresa Sousa, director of Community Development for Lennar.

The two permanent schools are planned for now undeveloped areas of Stevenson Ranch, located just west of the Golden State Freeway and north of Pico Canyon Road.

There is no firm date when the permanent schools will open, since Lennar’s development plans for the remaining phases of Stevenson Ranch still need the approval of Los Angeles County officials, Ware said.