The Newhall School District’s governing board began a preliminary discussion Tuesday on what should happen to the relocatable classrooms at three of the district’s elementary schools.
Scott Gaudineer, president and CEO of the Flewelling and Moody architectural firm, presented the board a brief report about the relocatable buildings his team assessed at Stevenson Ranch Elementary School, Wiley Canyon Elementary School and Meadows Elementary School.
“When we talk about relocatables, sometimes called portables, the intent of them is to be temporary housing to overcome capacity needs or a change in programmatic requirements,” said Gaudineer.
He added that the relocatable classrooms tend to stay on campuses in one spot longer than intended. They are meant to be moved around to different locations.
Gaudineer said that the issue with keeping the relocatable classrooms for so long is less energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems than permanent spaces, and security issues as relocatable classrooms are not directly connected to the permanent spaces and may be out of the “line of sight.”
“Their lifespan for a relocated is typically 15 to 20 years. If you think about it we’re coming up on 30 years at this point (for Stevenson Ranch Elementary School),” he said.
The point of the presentation was to bring it to the board’s attention and ask whether the relocatable classrooms serve a valid purpose moving forward, added Gaudineer.
He also posed questions on whether the board wants to discuss removing the classrooms altogether to free up space and reduce operating costs or look into alternatives such as permanent classrooms, which board member Donna Robert said would be the most ideal scenario.
After the presentation, Robert asked Gaudineer, if the classrooms weren’t being used for any activities, then is Gaudineer suggesting that the classrooms be removed?
Gaudineer said, “I think you have to look at each campus and ask what programs are being supported by those or are there better alternatives?”
He said it would be best to examine whether the relocatable classrooms still served a purpose on the campus and consider if they can keep up with the educational need of the modern age.
“I think we have to think beyond what we have today because the truth is, putting a lot of money into these at this point in time is probably not your best resource allocation,” said Gaudineer.
Robert followed up by asking how bad the relocatable classrooms are and whether they would need to put a lot of money into them to salvage them.
Gaudineer said it wouldn’t be wise to invest in fixing up Wiley Canyon’s relocatable classrooms, but some of Stevenson Ranch’s and Meadows’ relocatable classrooms could be salvageable.
“I would not remove something without having a pathway to get to the permanent solution or the next solution,” he said.
Board member Sue Solomon said this was the first stop in looking at what was going on with the classrooms and what the board could do about them.
“To me, this is actually a really good beginning phase of assessing the sites and then having conversations with our community. I think these type of conversations are important,” said Solomon.
She added that the decision will come when the economics for the district make sense for a project at this length.
Board President Ernesto Smith said for the short term they should examine a report that assesses each site and shows if they are being used, the extent of their conditions, and how much would it cost to upkeep or remove the classroom.
He said it would be better to know before they bring the topic back for discussion.
