CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BEGINS FOR NEW SCHOOL.

Byline: Marci Wormser Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Civic leaders donned hard hats and ceremoniously stuck shovels into newly graded land at the groundbreaking Wednesday for the new $20.2 million Ana Verde Plaza School.

Giving the school a permanent campus after years at different temporary homes, the two-year construction project will be financed with school bonds passed by Palmdale voters in 2001 and by California voters in November.

``We've been waiting for 10 years for this,'' said Ana Verde Principal Todd Cherland.

The school at Division Street and Avenue R is scheduled to open in January 2005.

On the 16.69-acre campus, Ana Verde will have a two-story main building, a library, resource center, computer lab, multipurpose room and full-size gymnasium.

The school district will contribute $1.5 million from its 2001 bond measure toward the $20.2 million cost, and $18.7 million will come from Proposition 47, the $13 billion school bond passed by California voters in November.

For the past several years, Ana Verde Plaza has been housed in portable classrooms behind Summerwind Elementary School, near the Antelope Valley Mall. The school previously shared Juniper Intermediate School's campus and later was at Ocotillo Elementary School.

``It took that long to get funding from the state,'' Superintendent Nancy Smith said. ``We're excited to have a new brick-and-mortar school.''

Smith joined Norm Hickling, representative to Fifth District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich; Rex Moen, representative to state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale; and Larry Grooms, representative to Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, to take part in the ground-breaking ceremony.

Cherland said sharing a campus with Summerwind has been daunting because Ana Verde students do not have their own gym, lab or performing arts building. In addition, the temporary facilities are crowded, he said.

``We're maxxed up to capacity,'' he said. ``Summerwind has been great, but it's not our school. We're tenants.''

The new and permanent school will hold up to 1,149 students. About 700 students are now enrolled in the school, Cherland said.

Eighth-grader Marcellus Coleman told the crowd Wednesday that he is excited about the school's future home though he will be enrolled in high school by the time the school is built.

``It's a dream come true,'' the teen said. ``It's everybody's dream come true.''

The district hired a Glendora firm in January to build three new schools, including Ana Verde Plaza, for a total of $52.9 million.

NTD-Edge Design Builders will also build Ponderosa, which will be located at 37th Street East and Pearblossom Highway and hold up to 937 students. Construction is slated to begin in May and be completed in July 2005.

The firm also will build Granite Hills, to be located at 67th Street East and Avenue R-8. That school also will hold up to 937 students. Construction is scheduled to begin in July and take two years.

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) At top, shovel-wielding city and school officials break ground for Ana Verde, a new K-8 school at Avenue R and Division Street in Palmdale. Above, a model shows the site's layout.

(3 -- 4 -- color) At left, Palmdale's newest elementary school will be at Avenue R and Division Street. Above, the ground-breaking ceremony for Ana Verde School is held Wednesday. The two-year construction project was financed with school bonds passed by Palmdale voters in 2001 and by state voters in November.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News