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Schools

Capo Tidies Up 'To-do' List of School Construction Projects

Put on notice from the state in 2008 that a number of school projects in the Capistrano Unified School District failed to get proper certification, the school board will hear an update on what has been done and what work remains.

Since receiving notice from the state in 2008 that that a number of construction and modernization projects at schools all across the district had yet to receive proper certification, Capistrano Unified has been slowly chipping away at the list.

That’s the report the Board of Trustees will hear Monday night as part of its regular meeting.

In October 2008, then-superintendent A. Woodrow Carter, received a letter from the Division of the State Architect, which certifies all construction projects after school districts complete the work, make the necessary inspections and file the proper paperwork with the state.

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The letter warned that many CUSD projects appeared completed but without certification, which could result in some serious and negative consequences, state architect David F. Thorman warned in 2008.

The Division of the State Architect "will be unable to approve future proposed construction … and, more importantly, governing board members may be held personally liable for projects until certified,” he wrote then.

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This means people who were injured or their property damaged at one of the uncertified school sites could personally sue school board members if the projects in some way failed, Thorman continued.

Since then, CUSD’s “to-do” list has gone from 34 to 19, and the current list of 19 has one more cases closed, according to Monday night’s report. Most recently at .

Still, many other projects linger since 2008. The district has filed paperwork with the state on the following projects and is awaiting approval:

  • Construction on Mission Viejo-based ’s two-story modular building
  • Improvements to in Mission Viejo, including a new covered walkway, alternations to classrooms, the multipurpose room  and administration building
  • Addition of relocatables at Carl Hankey
  • Placement of the YMCA relocatable building at Ladera Ranch Elementary School
  • Construction of a two-story mudular building at School

The district is still working on finalizing the paperwork for the following completed projects and has yet to submit them to the state for certification:

  • Modernization at in San Juan Capistrano
  • Modernization at in Laguna Niguel
  • Modernization at in Mission Viejo
  • Construction of a restroom at
  • Conversion of Carl Hankey to a K-8 school

Work has not begun to certify the following projects:

READ MORE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION CERTIFICATION AT CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOLS:

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