Twelve years ago, when enrollment at Jonata School began to climb beyond the 450 students that the building was intended to accommodate, a search began to find a second school site.

The search, according to Dr. David Hutt, Superintendent of the Buellton Union School District, was based not only on the numbers of children who were currently crowding classrooms at Jonata, but also on the projected growth in the Santa Ynez Valley, particularly in the west valley, in the Buellton school district.

ìIt was clear to the Buellton School Board in 1992 that there would be a need for an additional school in Buellton., says Hutt, adding that in 1992, a general obligation bond was passed by the community of Buellton, with the purpose of assisting with the acquisition of a second school site. ìIt took twelve years to get to the point where we are now, says Hutt, ìbecause there was some difficulty in terms of identifying suitable and acceptable school sites over the past several years. After years of delay, the site for the new Oak Valley Elementary was identified in the area of Second Street, Sycamore and Via Corona,

and the Buellton Union School district was able to reach an acceptable sale price for the property. Following the sale, a bid process began for the contracting job, which was eventually awarded to AJ Diani of Santa Maria, and construction began. The total estimated cost of the new elementary school is $3.5 million dollars.

The first stage of the new campus, which just opened, consists of administrative buildings, a multi-purpose room and a kitchen building, twelve modular classrooms, two bathroom buildings and a custodial facility. ìThis, says Hutt, ìis phase one. In phase one, approximately 180 first, second and third graders will occupy Oak Valley Elementary.

In phase two, now that the State has approved additional construction plans, kindergartners will attend Oak Valley, which will then have covered walkways, a permanent library building and a computer lab building.

In phase three, fourth and fifth graders will have permanent classroom facilities at Oak Valley, and it will include a fine arts room. Phase three includes a provision for another four modular classrooms. ìAlong with the general obligation bond proceeds, says Hutt, ìthe district has set aside money to build Oak Valley and has an approved but unfunded construction project under the State School Facilities Building program. No specific timetable for construction has been set to give phases two and three definitive deadlines.

Each Oak Valley classroom will have internet access capability as well as a networking capacity between the Jonata and Oak Valley sites. The multi-purpose room includes a formal stage area, which can be used for a community theater, as well as an outdoor courtyard area, where events and activities sponsored by the school take place.

Diana Paul, a PTSA Vice President and mother of second grader Liam, points out that the stage can also be used for functions that will benefit the greater Buellton community. Events utilizing the stage might help raise funds to keep the library open; due to statewide budget cuts, school libraries are no longer staffed and open all day to students. ìPeople have to realize that public school isn't free. Taxes don't cover what they used to and we're going to have to fight tooth and nail to give our children the kind of education they deserve.

Oak Valley Elementary will relieve Jonata School of its crowded playground and many temporary buildings. Currently there are 634 students on a campus that was built to accommodate only 450. As Oak Valley opened its doors in September 2002, the new school relieved site congestion by at least ten classrooms, bringing Jonata's enrollment down to 450 in the fourth through eighth grades, and kindergarten. When phase three kicks in, and Oak Valley fills to its capacity of 600 students, Jonata will then have an estimated enrollment of 300 students in grades six through eight.

Parents of Oak Valley and Jonata students are pleased that the new school will free up Jonata's portable classrooms and separate the older and younger children. Donna O'Neill, whose son Cavan and daughter Shannon are in the first and third grades, hopes a stop light and crossing guard will be installed so that children who live in the Meadow Ridge development can walk to school.

Even with the addition of Oak Valley, Buellton could continue to face crowded classrooms. Population in the Buellton area is booming, due to new housing developments, and housing projects that are currently under construction.

ìThere are over 120 new homes in the area near Oak Valley Elementary, says Hutt, who calculates the number of children per house based on a developer fee study, which indicates that there will be at least one elementary aged child for every two new homes. The construction of homes in the Buellton area may continue, because the homes are affordably priced, compared to real estate in Santa Barbara. ìA number of Buellton homeowners commute to Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and even Ventura, says Hutt.

ìOak Valley School has been a long time coming, says Joyce Azvedo, president of the combined PTSA for Jonata and Oak Valley Schools. When she voted on a bond issue to build the school twelve years ago, she thought that her son Brian would attend it. But Brian is now a sixth grader at Jonata. She considers herself fortunate that the school was built in time for her younger child Michael to join the second grade, ìbut there's still a long way to go, says Azvedo. ìThe computer lab isn't finished. There's definitely going to be an adjustment period. Jennifer Harvey agrees; her third grade daughter Marla loves her new school, ìbut we're looking forward to raising more money for additional playground equipment.

Oak Valley Elementary shares Oak Park, a new community park, which is being developed by the city, with over three acres of play area and equipment. The park epitomizes the school as a joint endeavor between the community and the school district.

ìThe play area capacity of the park was expanded, says Hutt, ìbecause the city and the school district worked in cooperation to develop common-use playfields for soccer and softball. Oak Valley Elementary is a school and community project of cooperation, says Hutt. ìAs a partner in the Buellton community we hope Oak Valley is well received in the area. Oak Valley is a culmination of effort that has taken twelve years to realize.

What do Oak Valley students and parents think about their new school? Cavan O'Neill, a first grader, was thrilled to learn that Oak Valley would be limited to the first three grades. ìI like that there aren't any big kids, he says. His sister Shannon, a third grader, likes ìthat it's brand new. I think that's so cool !

C.C. Beaudette-Wellman, mother of second grader Alexandra, has high hopes for the new school. ìMy daughter had an extraordinary year at Jonata, she says. ìHer teacher and the curriculum set high standards, and she excelled. I hope that Oak Valley proves to be a similar kind of learning environment.

Diana Paul wishes there was more grass on the playground, and that the trees were bigger, to provide shade during the hot fall months, instead of little saplings. ìBut the grass will come in time, she observes, ìand little saplings grow.