CALIFORNIA CITY SCHOOL PLAN STRONGLY OPPOSED.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

A school board member's plan to build a high school in California City and turn Mojave High School into a middle school as part of a proposed $55 million parcel tax has drawn heavy opposition from Mojave residents.

A Mojave Unified School District meeting Tuesday drew more than 100 people, and more than 20 people expressed opposition to the proposal put forward by board President Richard Hall, who is also California City's mayor.

``The economy is bad right now. With declining enrollment, I think it would be quite a burden to place on the community at this time,'' said trustee Connie Biehl, a resident of Mojave. ``I don't like to see a school closed. I feel we should be fixing up what we have. It's not as costly as building a new high school.''

With between 70 percent to 80 percent of the nearly 600 students at Mojave High School bused in from California City, Hall said California City residents want a high school in their community.

``Right now, California City has the majority of the students. Eventually we will need a high school in California City as well as Mojave,'' Hall said. ``I can understand the sentiment associated with Mojave High School and understand the opposition, just like I can understand the need of people in California City to want one.''

Mojave High School is 40 years old, Hall noted, and will require extensive renovation. But he said he has an open mind.

``I have no problem with keeping Mojave High School open as a high school. At some point, it will be closed to be renovated,'' Hall said.

The board took no action on the proposed parcel tax at Tuesday's meeting, and trustees will discuss the proposal again at an April 23 meeting, which will be held in California City.

If approved, the parcel tax would appear on the November ballot. Based on the 70,000 parcels in the district, officials estimate that residents would pay about $80 per parcel per year over a 10-year period.

Other elements of Hall's plan include closing and renovating Joshua Middle School and reopening it as an elementary school; closing and remodeling Mojave Elementary School and reopening it as quarters for the continuation high school, adult school and the district office; buying land west of Robert P. Ulrich Elementary School to expand the cafeteria and build new classrooms; and setting aside $1 million to pay for new programs and textbooks.

Before Tuesday's meeting, the Mojave Town Council released a statement on its opposition to closing Mojave High School and the parcel tax.

``Placing this proposal on the ballot now will undo the cooperation we have been able to build between Mojave and California City plus cost the district thousands of dollars,'' wrote Bill Deaver, president of the council, which has no governmental authority.

``While we in Mojave understand the desire of people in California City to have their own high school, we will not support closing the school we worked many years to build.''

The Mojave district has an enrollment of about 3,000 students at three elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school and a continuation school.

Trustees in June indefinitely tabled a proposal to put a parcel tax on the November 1995 ballot to pay for construction of a second elementary school in California City, citing declining enrollment.

At that time the district for the first time in 30 years had experienced a drop in student numbers, with enrollment dipping by 130.