Tax District Proposed to Fund New School

The city’s school board on Monday will consider forming a special tax district in the Olinda Heights area to raise from $5 million to $7 million for a new elementary school.

The school, which would become the seventh elementary campus in the Brea Olinda Unified School District, is tentatively set to open in spring 1999, officials said.

It would serve children in the Olinda Heights development, a planned community of 662 homes--north of Carbon Canyon Road and east of Valencia Avenue--that is under construction.

To raise the money, the school board will consider forming a Community Facilities District, which would allow for a bond of up to $7 million. Future homeowners in the area would pay yearly fees to retire the debt, officials said.

Initially, the school’s “core” and about half of the classrooms would be built, Gary Goff, the district’s assistant superintendent, said. As more people move into Olinda Heights, more classrooms would be added, he said.

Those interested in the project will have a chance to comment at Monday’s meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the boardroom at 1 Civic Center Circle.

Information: (714) 990-7800.