Fate of Historic School Is Subject of Hearing Tonight

The Orange Unified School District has been ordered by the California Department of Education to conduct a public hearing on whether to raze the historic Olive School to make way for an apartment complex.

The hearing is scheduled for 6 tonight at the district’s Education Center, 370 N. Glassell St. in Orange.

Plans to raze the school, established in 1876, have met with opposition from many residents in the old Olive community in northern Orange, who say the district is violating promises not to tear down the building. Opponents have formed a group called Save Olive School and collected 1,000 signatures of people opposed to the district’s plans to build from 150 to 180 apartments on the site in a joint venture with a developer.

In order to proceed with its plans, the district had to apply for a waiver from the state Board of Education that would allow them not to seek competitive bids from developers. Such a waiver, according to Vickie Lee, an analyst with the board’s offices in Sacramento, gives the district more flexibility in its proposal.

But one of the requirements for the waiver is that the district hold a public hearing to let people know of plans for the property. District officials contended that they had conducted such a hearing at an April board meeting. But Department of Education officials ruled that because the agenda did not even list the name of the school to be discussed, the district had not complied with the requirement.

The project must also be approved by the city Planning Commission.