Windsor school officials have decided not to buy a controversial school site, but aren't completely giving up the idea.
The school board announced Wednesday that because of falling property values it would not complete the purchase agreement it negotiated several years ago for the Jensen Lane site.
School officials said it would no longer be "financially prudent" to buy the land at the price it agreed to in 2009.
"While purchasing this particular property at the originally negotiated price no longer remains a viable option, the need to provide adequate housing for students continues," George Valenzuela, past board president said in a prepared statement.
Opponents, who painted nightmare scenarios of traffic gridlock in the neighborhood, were not celebrating the school board announcement.
That's because the district's chief business official, Mary Downey, acknowledged that if the purchase price changes, "it's conceivable that the Board could once again determine this property is a valuable option."
School officials have never disclosed publicly how much they agreed to pay for the 12-acre school site on the eastern edge of Windsor. They said the terms of the purchase price are confidential until the deal is finalized. But the whole project, including land, construction and other costs, was estimated at $28 million.
Thomas Freeman, a retired podiatrist who lives next to the site, said Wednesday he isn't convinced the board's announcement marks the end for the project.
"This doesn't mean they can't get another option (on the property)," he said.
Sherry Phillips, a resident of nearby Vintage Hills, offered a similar assessment. "I don't think it's a done deal. They haven't been definitive as to their plans yet," she said.
The school was proposed for as many as 700 students and neighbors feared the traffic would create havoc on two-lane Vinecrest Road. They also raised concerns about earthquakes from the Rodgers Creek fault 1,500 feet away.
Windsor Town Council members, who do not control the location of new schools, also strongly opposed the site.
Situated east of Hembree Lane, toward the end of Vinecrest Road, the property is mostly an open field with a stand of eucalyptus trees, a large barn and a house built in the 1890s. Mark Ross, the longtime property owner who agreed to sell to the school district, could not be reached Wednesday.
Tammy Gabel, schools superintendent, did not immediately return calls.
In its press release, the school district said it entered into the purchase agreement during a period of rapid growth in the number of students, as reflected by a 15 percent increase from 2003 to 2010.
Since then, growth has slowed but the district said the need for a future new school remains. Based on state standards, the district is beyond capacity by 1,391 students and in need of 57 new classrooms, officials said.
The district was in the final phase of completing an environmental impact report on the property, but said if it re-enters escrow, the study would be completed.
Construction was to be funded by a $50 million bond measure approved by voters in 2008. The district said projects already completed include a track-and-field facility and science classrooms at the high school, new music building at Windsor Middle School and numerous improvements at several elementary schools.
You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.
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