What’s next for Ocean View School District as it closes a middle school this year?

Months after the Ocean View School District decided to consolidate Spring View Middle School, the district now has to decide what to do with its surplus property.

Because of a decline in enrollment and the consolidation of Spring View students with other middle schools in OVSD at the start of the next school year, OVSD has more property than is necessary, according to Superintendent Michael Conroy. The district, too, has to redraw the middle school boundary lines to reflect the consolidation.

As for the excess property, OVSD is establishing what’s called a “7-11 committee,” an advisory group required to be convened that will determine whether to sell or lease the excess property. There is no deadline for the committee to make its recommendations, Conroy said.

It’s up to the OVSD School Board, said Conroy, to make the final determination of whether properties are sold or leased. OVSD Trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin said that the district has “a tremendous amount of unused properties that the district currently owns, and by selling or leasing the property, we could garner a lot of extra revenue.”

For example, she said, the district owns the land off of Warner Avenue and B Street in Huntington Beach, the site of Lowe’s. The district generates over $2 million annually from various properties like that ground lease, according to Claton-Tarvin, and she wants to see it lease more unused property.

OVSD will close Spring View Middle School at the end of the year, and after, only Vista View, Mesa View and Marine View middle schools will remain in the district.

The district is holding informational meetings for families of elementary students impacted by the closure of Spring View, with one planned for Wednesday, Jan. 31 and another on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

During these meetings, families can expect a forum with OVSD officials to communicate details about the consolidation and boundary changes and address any questions or concerns.

The meetings will be held at Spring View, 16662 Trudy Ln. in Huntington Beach, and more information can be found on the district’s website.

“The feedback from these meetings has been positive,” said Conroy. “Community members are giving their thoughts, views and opinions all in a very positive manner, and I have been relaying that to the board.”

Village View parent Richard Marrison said that since the decision to close the school was made in November, it has been “a whirlwind.”

“Things are being handled far better than I expected by the district,” said Marrison, “but it is still difficult to see things change so rapidly. Change is hard.”

OVSD trustees are expected to approve new boundaries for the district’s remaining middle schools during the board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

To assess how the boundary lines are going to be redrawn, the district has been following a set of “operational criteria.” Some of the criteria highlight keeping neighborhoods and tracts together, balancing the enrollment between the available middle schools, ensuring easy routes for families’ transportation preferences and minimizing the number of intra-district transfer submissions.

These criteria along with potential boundary options have been shared with families at the informational meetings.

Consolidating schools and properties “has been a process,” said Conroy. “There has been a decline in enrollment, and this will help the middle schools with its low numbers and average the enrollment out a bit better.”

After months of discussion about the future of four OVSD schools, the board voted in November to close Spring View and consolidate its students to other schools in the district.

OVSD — which serves parts of Huntington Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley and Midway City — is home to more than 6,800 students across 15 schools. Since the 1980s, the district has grappled with decreasing enrollment and has shuttered or repurposed 11 school sites.

“Declining enrollment has continued in recent years and is impacting the district’s instructional program, facility needs and budget,” the board’s November agenda said.

In 2010, OVSD’s enrollment stood at 9,554 students, and district officials late last year predicted it will decrease by an additional 5,563 students by 2030, representing a drop of about 4,000 students. The district has had a decline of about 2,600 students since 2013.

But the district has “no plan or thought to have any future school closures at this time,” Conroy said.

Applications to be a part of the 7-11 committee are due by Feb. 23 and can be found on the district’s website.

The committee will be composed of no less than seven and no more than 11 members and must be representative of groups within the community. To be considered for voluntary membership, applicants must live within the OVSD district but cannot live or own property within 500 feet of any OVSD properties.