By Kate McCullough

The board of trustees for the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District last week began reviewing of preliminary plans for a new Alta Vista High School campus to be built on a three-acre plot of land adjacent to the district offices on Bryant Street.

In 2002 the Mountain View City Council unanimously approved a 40-year land lease at $1 per year with a 10-year renewal option to the MVLA district for the city’s old water tower property.

While details of the lease and approval of the plans by the school board and the state are being worked out, construction of the new school is scheduled to begin in fall 2004 with a completion schedule of eight to 14 months.

Although the project will complete the modernization of the school district campuses, funding is not included in the bond money that supported the renovations of the other district schools.

Developer’s fees, supplemented by state building funds and the district’s special reserve funds, should cover the $5 million cost.

Superintendent Rich Fischer said, “We can finance this with no impact on the general school district. We are committed to not spending general fund money on Alta Vista.”

The administration and members of the school board said that a new campus is a well-earned upgrade for Alta Vista faculty and students.

A successful continuation program, Alta Vista provides a small, community environment that focuses on building the skills of approximately 150 junior- and senior-level students who had not performed well in the traditional district high schools.

Associate Superintendent Joe White said that a comparison of the Alta Vista physical plant with the newly renovated district facilities confirms the need for a new campus. The 40-year-old temporary buildings are small, worn out and technologically insufficient.

Susan Sweeley, president of the board of trustees, said, “We need to bring Alta Vista up in appearance to the school it actually is — an award-winning school, one that will make the students feel that they are not second-class citizens.”

According to the plans, designed by the Placerville-based architectural firm Murray & Downs, the campus will include an open quad, food area, multipurpose room, administration building and 10 classrooms housing a tech center and library. The new buildings will accommodate a larger student population if needed. But they plan to maintain the 150-student range to preserve smaller class sizes and the intimacy of the school.