As part of its first meeting Thursday, the committee that Encinitas school officials recently formed to help advise them about what to do with the site that once housed Pacific View Elementary went over its responsibilities and learned about the property.

Encinitas Union School District trustees voted earlier this month to form the 11-member committee of people from different factions within the community.

The committee's main task over the next couple months will be to decide whether the 2.8-acre coastal property in downtown Encinitas is surplus or not. If they decide the district no longer needs it, they could also recommend what to do with it.

Ultimately, the school board will decide what the district does with the site, which the district has used as a storage yard since closing the school in 2003 because of low enrollment.

District officials and community members have debated for years about how the site should be used.

Some residents near the site have asked that it be turned into a park, while district officials have recommended trading it for a revenue-producing property somewhere else, leasing it or selling it.

"Probably everybody in Encinitas has an opinion of what to do with Pacific View," Baird said at the meeting.

State law requires public input whenever a school district considers selling or leasing a former school site.

The committee will hold three more meetings, one Nov. 10 and two in December. At it's Dec. 17 meeting, the members are expected to reach a consensus about whether the district needs the site or not. Their recommendation would then go to the school board for a final vote in January.

Baird said he recommended forming the committee because any money the district might get from the property could help as it deals with state budget cuts.

"Right now is a very difficult financial time for the district," he said. "We will be uncovering every rock and looking at all of the resources that we have."

Members of the committee include educators, administrators, community leaders, a parent and a board member. At their first meeting, they mostly discussed the purpose and structure of the committee and its meetings.

Pacific View was the district's smallest campus at 2.8 acres. It's other campuses are between seven and 18 acres.

Earlier this year, the district offered the land to the City of Encinitas for $10 million so that it could be used as a public park. The City Council rejected the proposal.

Call staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.