ESCONDIDO -- Building a $68 million magnet school for 500 to 800 students on vacant land in a residential community in western Escondido will affect traffic and alter the neighborhood, officials and residents agree.

But in what ways and how much?

Those questions were at the center of a two-hour meeting Wednesday between Escondido Union High School District officials and 20 residents whose homes border the 34-acre parcel district officials have proposed for the magnet school.

The meeting was the first where community members were able to raise their concerns about the district's proposed project and suggest ways to reduce any negative effects on the community. Several residents said afterward that the open discussion among school board members, other district officials and residents eased their concerns.

"I think that they are doing a good job of trying to keep (the school) from being a nuisance," said Iris Seifert, who shares a 641-foot property line with the district's property at Citracado and West Valley parkways. "I am impressed with the effort they are making."

The career technical and college preparatory school, which will focus on the biotechnology and medical fields, is one of several construction projects the district has packaged in a $98 million bond proposed for the ballot in the Nov. 4 presidential election. The board will vote on whether to place the bond on the ballot next Tuesday.

Superintendent Ed Nelson has said he would also use bond and redevelopment money to replace aging portable facilities at the district's traditional campuses with permanent buildings, improve science labs and performing arts facilities, and build a permanent adult education facility. The proposed projects would ease crowding and offer more learning options for students, he said.

But while many of the homeowners surveyed in Escondido have said that they would fully support and are willing to pay for improvements at Escondido, Orange Glen and San Pasqual high schools, some -- including neighborhood residents who have attended many meetings on the proposals -- have said they have doubts about the proposed school.

Residents at Wednesday's meeting expressed concerns about the school's entrance, traffic to and from the campus, the design and location of the school, and whether adding another campus is fiscally responsible.

"All we have heard is generic things about it's going to be a magnet school for kids -- but what are you building?" said Mary Clark, who lives in the Oakstone housing development that borders the district's lot.

The school would be sandwiched on a sloped parcel between West Valley and Citracado parkways and homes in the Oakstone and Greenwood Place developments. It also shares a property line with Seifert.

Several residents interviewed after the meeting said they were happy for the opportunity to voice their concerns -- even if the district didn't have answers for everything yet.

"It was good to get a lot of that out," said Bill Durney, who raised questions about the school's entrance and fire-road access among other things. "Now we will see how they respond."

District officials said they plan to incorporate residents' input throughout the design and building process, so everyone will be happy with the finished product.

Nelson said the meeting is just one step toward involving the residents in that process over the long term. The proposed ballot measure, if passed, would require at least one resident overseeing the spending of bond funds to be from the Oakstone neighborhood.

"The communication and follow up communication is important here," Nelson said.

Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.