SPUSD board gets look at
conceptual plans for new K-8 school

Conceptual plans for the proposed K-8 elementary school, planned for the new East Area 1 development have been presented to the Governing Board of the Santa Paula Unified School District.

In getting final approval from the board, the new school will be built in the midst of the 500 acre residential and commercial development and will hold up to 900 students. The  architectural firm of  Feeling and Moody has been working on the project. Scott Gaudineer outlined the plans for the board.

He said, “We wanted to make sure there was a clear front door to the campus.” They plan a single entrance to the core building from the parking lot, with security features that won’t allow access to other parts of the campus without clearance.

As for the parking, he added, “What we’ve tried to do is create a drop-off area that circumvents the parking.” There will be about 90 parking spaces.

Aside from the core building, which will include administrative offices, a teachers’ lounge, a library, a multi-purpose room with a stage, as well as a kitchen, there will be four other sets of classroom buildings that will mimic each other. In the center will be flex labs and a music facility, centralized to the classrooms. The kindergarten building will be isolated to some extent with it’s own playground. On the backside of the multi-purpose room Gaudineer said there will be an amphitheater with a stage.

He noted they scaled down the buildings in a way that they appear to be low. He said an arcade follows around the buildings. “With 900 students you need some protection from the weather,” he added. He also said they worked to make the floor plans highly functional. In addition, he said they’re still in discussions with the city on joint use of the facilities.