Seacliff Elementary opens as Huntington Beach’s first new school in

25 years

-- ANDREW WAINER

Huntington Beach’s first new school in a quarter of a century opened in

the fall -- the state-of-the-art Huntington Seacliff Elementary School.

The new educational facility was a long time coming. Proposed 10 years

ago, it was beset with delays, design changes and developer negotiations.

In 1992, the school board decided to build a two-story campus on an

8.3-acre lot at the corner of Garfield Avenue and Saddleback Lane.

Because of a recession in the mid-1990s the project had to be scaled

back. The original two-story model was scrapped in January 1998, when it

was deemed too expensive. Construction finally began later that year, in

October.

The new 64,167-square-foot school was prewired to support technology. It

was also the first school in California to be constructed according to

1999 building codes. The school was designed to blend with the style of

the surrounding neighborhood, painted in soft earth tones, with

California Mission-style terra cotta tile on the roofs.

When the design for the school was finished, another problem arose for

the district: Who would get to attend the new school.

Dozens of residents complained when their neighborhoods were excluded

from the preliminary boundary plans. Bolsa Landmark, The Bluffs, Edwards

Hill and Hamptons, Seagate Peninsula, Ocean Colony, Seacliff Estates,

Seacliff on the Greens, and Upper and Lower Seacliff eventually were the

neighborhoods included within the school’s enrollment borders.

Enrollment at the school is about 450 students.

Once it opened, the school ran like clockwork.

And to celebrate the opening, the PTA had a “10,000 Leagues Under the

Seacliff” dance in the fall, which was well attended by parents, students

and administrators.