Parents sour on plans for school

The potential repurposing of Citrus Elementary School has raised the concerns of some local parents, though a final decision likely won’t come anytime soon.

The Chico Unified School District is in the process of developing a 20-year master plan that will outline how to use the $78 million of voter-approved Measure E funding earmarked for improvements to the district’s facilities, said Assistant Superintendent Bob Feaster (pictured).

The current draft would close Loma Vista Elementary School, which Feaster said is “falling down around us” and is mostly attended by preschool and special-education students, in part to help alleviate traffic on the campus that also includes Pleasant Valley High School and Marigold Elementary School. Feaster said that Citrus Elementary would be repurposed to accommodate the displaced students.

The district will host at least one more community workshop before scheduling the issue for a CUSD Board of Trustees vote, Feaster said. If the proposal is approved, the changes would take effect in the 2017-18 school year.