Plans for adult classes halted at VUSD middle school

By: STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer | Friday, July 13, 2007 9:57 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- Plans for adult school classes on the campus of Vista Unified's new magnet middle school are on hold, partly because of trustees' concerns about mixing the different age groups.

Amid some confusion as to whether the school board has approved the plans to open the Vista Adult Education satellite campus at the new school, Vista Magnet Middle School, Trustee David Hubbard asked Thursday to delay a vote on the matter.

The board unanimously agreed to wait until district officials give the board more information about the plans at the next board meeting, July 26.

"I just think we need to put the brakes on this until the board gets a chance to review it," Hubbard said at the meeting.

The trustees said they were concerned about having students at the middle school learning so near an adult facility, which planned to offer some classes during the day while the children were there.

The arrangement would be very similar to one the adult school has with the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. For the last four years, the two schools have shared a plot of land with California Avenue School near the corner of California Avenue and North Santa Fe Avenue.

"It's not like we're creating something new here," said Jose Villarreal, principal of the magnet school. "It's been tested, and it seems to work well."

Villarreal said he thinks that the program will be a good fit on the campus. The adult program has agreed to pay for work to fix up the front of the downtown campus and to share technological upgrades with the students.

Though the board never voted to allow Vista Adult Education to use part of the 18-acre campus, they did discuss the idea last year and showed some support for the idea. Because the adult program is part of the district, a vote was not required, district officials have said.

Even adult school Principal Richard Crane said he thought the plan was on track.

"We have been operating under the assumption that it had everybody's blessing and approval," he said, "and apparently, there's some confusion over that."

Though the satellite campus was originally expected to open in September, classes now probably won't start until next fall if the board allows plans to move forward, Crane said.

If the board decides not to allow the adult program on the campus, Crane said the program will look for class space elsewhere in the Townsite area. Many of the people enrolled in the adult classes live in the low-income area in central Vista, he said.

The classes at the magnet school campus would mostly be for people learning to speak English, Crane said. Most would be during the evening, when the adult classes are in the highest demand. The adult school also hoped to use some of the middle school's classrooms when school is not in session, he said.

Having the satellite campus on the site near the corner of Vista Village Drive and Escondido Avenue would allow the adult school to serve more people and do it more efficiently, Crane said.

As part of the school district, Vista Adult Education operates at about 25 locations around the district ----- including a main office on Bobier Drive and The Literacy Center on West California Avenue ---- and serves nearly 20,000 people a year.

More information about the district's Adult Education program is available online at vas.vusd.k12.ca.us.

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 631-6622 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.

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