CAMPUS GROUNDBREAKING TODAY HACIENDA ELEMENTARY TO BE BUILT WITHOUT CAFETERIA BECAUSE OF COST.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

CALIFORNIA CITY -- A long-awaited groundbreaking is scheduled today for Hacienda Elementary School, which is being financed by a $16 million bond measure that residents approved nearly five years ago.

Because of soaring construction costs, which have almost doubled the total project cost, and not enough money, the school will be built without a multipurpose room/cafeteria.

``Something is wrong with the system when it takes this long and you lose that much money in the process. We are trying to get the most for our dollar,'' said Larry Phelps, superintendent of the Mojave Unified School District. ``We are frustrated that we can't put in everything that we set out to do.''

The groundbreaking will be held at 11 a.m. at 19950 Hacienda Blvd., next to California City Middle School. A reception will follow.

The district plans to use a nontraditional way of building Hacienda and California City High School, also financed by the 2002 bond measure.

Instead of hiring the contractor who submits the lowest bid, Mojave is pursuing a process called ``lease-lease back,'' under which the school district would lease the property to a builder, who promises to build a school for a set price.

The district would make lease payments during the course of construction and own the building when it's completed.

District officials initially said the cost of the elementary school would be between $8 million and $9 million, and $23 million for the high school.

Now, those estimates have ballooned to $17 million to $18 million for the elementary campus, and more than $40 million for the high school.

Construction of the high school was delayed by the discovery of a protected desert tortoise near the site, and both the high school land and the elementary campus site had to be surveyed for unexploded bombs that might have been left over from World War II training.

Construction began on the high school last fall. Both schools are scheduled to open this fall.

With no cafeteria, Hacienda students will eat lunch in a classroom.

``We won't be able to do all the field and site work. We will do as much as we can. We plan to finish the school,'' Phelps said. ``That's all we have as of right now.''

The high school will be built without a gymnasium and administration building because of the escalating costs.

In March 2002, California City voters approved a tax to finance a $16 million bond measure to build the elementary school and high school.

Designed for 600 students, California City High will help ease crowding at Mojave High School and eliminate the need for California City teens to travel to Mojave for school.

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