District Set to Build Lang Ranch School

With hopes of opening a new elementary school by next fall, Conejo Valley officials will select a construction firm hours after they symbolically break ground Thursday on the district’s 20th elementary school.

The Lang Ranch Elementary School, expected to be completed by September 1998, will host about 600 students, now crowded in classrooms at Park Oaks and Ladera elementary schools.

“We know it’s an ambitious construction schedule,” said Sean Corrigan, director of planning and facilities. “Especially with El Nino coming. But we hope to open by next fall.”

The new 49,700-square-foot building, which will sit on 8 acres of land donated by developers, will be the first school in the district to have windows and be under one roof. Though Los Cerritos Middle School is contained, it is windowless, Corrigan said.

Multiple wings and portables yield to energy inefficiency, Corrigan said. Also, being self-contained enhances student safety, he said.

The school board will vote Thursday on which company will build the school. Corrigan is recommending Viola Inc. of Oxnard, the lowest bidder at $6.6 million. The developer, Lang Ranch Co., and builders’ fees will pay for most of that.

If the voters approve a $97-million bond for the school district this November, about $900,000 will go to extras at Lang Ranch, such as upgraded technology, play equipment, soundproofing of walls, video and audio capabilities and added alarm systems, Corrigan said.

The school, designed by Flewelling and Moody Architects in Los Angeles, features air-conditioning, basic computer wiring, telephone lines and energy-efficient boilers and heaters.