Rita Ledesma Elementary School San Jose, California
As the first homebuilder sponsored turn key development of a public school in California, Rita Ledesma Elementary was delivered in 1999.
NewSchools founder Ed Eastridge was retained in 1992 by a large homebuilder to develop a more beneficial delivery system for public school facilities paid for in large part by homebuilders. California's complex system for the approval and funding of school facilities caused this project to pioneer a number of new techniques.
NewSchools provided comprehensive consultation and development services, beginning with a negotiated Mitigation Agreement between the District and the homebuilder. Unlike monetary value based Mitigation Agreement, Eastridge utilized the NewSchools created "Design and Construct to a Program and Budget" approach, describing the facility in detail through educational specifications and program. A building design was then commissioned and managed with the constructor to assure both ultimate cost and quality of design.
Rita Ledesma offered the first opportunity to identify the budget available and the performance and capacity of the facility in advance and then manage the turn key delivery to meet those objectives. The final solution utilized public private partnership techniques, utilizing cost effective and high quality trades provided through the homebuilders trade relationships under the State of California's stringent approval and inspection requirements.
Cobalt Middle School Victorville, California
NewSchools affiliate, The Public Private Development Collaborative, provided a lease leaseback development of a new middle school for the Victor Valley Union High School District. The facility utilized the specific legislation for lease leaseback programs in California to deliver a turn key design/build/finance facility for 1000 students, on District owned land. Utilizing Tax Exempt Bond financing, the facility was built and is paid for by Tax Increment funds provided to the District by a local Redevelopment Agency.
Community Inspiration Studio at San Fernando High School
Los Angeles Unified School District
Utilizing private, taxable financing and District funds, a state of the art digital media studio was developed for San Fernando High School. Utilizing a design/build/finance model, significant support was provided by Apple, the George Lucas Education Foundation and Norstan Communications.
This facility, developed in a former vocational education space in the high school, has been featured in numerous digital media, digital filmmaking and animation circles, as has the leadership behind the Community Inspiration Studio, Marco Torres, an Apple Distinguished Educator.
Guajome Park Academy Vista, California
Developed as an early experiment in the Charter School movement in California, Guajome Park Academy's Vista Village Learning Center was privately developed by Ed Eastridge in 1998. An American School and University award winning facility, the Vista Village Learning Center was one of the first elements in the City of Vista, California redevelopment project area.
Featuring a state of the art laboratory facility and digital media development site, the Vista Village Learning Center helped Guajome Park Academy become a nationally recognized leader in project based learning and leading to designation as an American High School award winner by the U.S. Department of Education. One of only two schools recognized in this annual award west of the Mississippi, it was the only Charter School in the nation to receive that recognition.
Solon Senior Academy Chandler, Arizona
Managing multiple site master planning and strategic growth plans for an expanding charter school network in the greater Phoenix area, Ed Eastridge provided a wide range of services to Advanced Education Services.
Culminating in facilitating acquisition of both improved and unimproved real estate, Ed provided a tax exempt financing strategy and execution through Industrial Development Bonds for the Solon Senior Academy. Following acquisition of the property, entitlements, approvals, design and construction were all managed in a seamless manner. Entitlements included a coordinated approach to traffic studies, neighborhood consensus building, and significant site and building design issues. The delivery and occupancy of the Project provided significant capacity for a growing charter school system.