Santa Paula board approves renovation approach for Isabelle Middle School, adopts CEQA findings

The Santa Paula Unified School District board on Monday approved CEQA findings and a resolution favoring renovation, rather than demolition, of Isabelle Middle School’s main building.

Board members voted to adopt resolution number 2024-2025.26 after staff described Alternative 2 as the option that preserves the site’s historic character while meeting educational objectives. “Alternative number 2 is the renovation of the main building. It is not the replacement of the main building,” a district presenter said during the discussion, adding that the option listed on the resolution is the renovation approach.

Trustees and staff discussed cost differences between demolition and renovation; one trustee cited a roughly $10 million differential in favor of renovation. The board asked about next steps: the presenter said architects will continue design work and the district will prepare plans for submission to the Division of the State Architect, projecting a DSA submittal in 2026.

The motion to approve the resolution was moved and seconded (mover and seconder recorded in the minutes) and passed on a voice vote. The board’s action lets planners proceed with design under the renovation alternative while following CEQA-mandated mitigations and the district’s mitigation monitoring and reporting program.

What happens next: district staff said the architect will advance design documents and the project will move into typical construction planning phases (including DSA review). The resolution and findings provide the board’s formal policy direction to pursue the renovation alternative agreed on in prior stakeholder meetings.

The board approved the item during its action items portion of the meeting; the vote was recorded as an affirmative voice vote and the resolution number is recorded in the meeting minutes.