A second problematic elementary school site in southwest Manteca due to problematic development issues may also be having its path cleared to allow ground to break in the coming year or so.

The City of Manteca has verbally agreed to support annexation of the 56-acre Tinnin Road school site. The San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission is now formally reviewing the annexation request.

Issues arose due to concern about LAFCo and city policy that discouraged annexations that had the potential to create islands as many nearby rural residents along Tinnin Road do not want to annex to the city.

The goal is to annex the land to the district to avoid a need to spend more than $5 million that would add roughly 10 percent to the cost of the school for the installation of its own water well, septic system, and fire supersession systems.

When the land is annexed, the district will be able to connect to the city’s water, sewer, and storm drainage system.

The district has submitted plans to the state for a 1,200 student TK-8 student school on the site as well as for a 1,000-student TK-8 campus near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Jason Street.

The issues with storm drainage for the Woodward/Jason site will be resolved with an agreement being reviewed for adoption by the City of Manteca and South San Joaquin Irrigation District.

The district has already issued $80 million in community facilities district bonds that — along with matching state funds — will pay for the construction of the two schools.

The district also has plans to possibly expand the Nile Garden School campus.

The Tinnin Road site could also accomodate a high school in the future.

There is a third school site in southwest Manteca that also has development issues to resolve.

A decision by the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency to place a proposed dry levee through the 16-acre Rustic School site making it too small by state stands to build an elementary school campus and therefore rendering it useless.

The alignment for a dry levee that is part of the regional 200-year flood protection enhancement project essentially would require the flood agency to take almost half of the 16 acres for a 100-foot wide easement.

It cuts into the southern portion of the site where the district planned to have play fields for a future elementary school.

The remaining land area is too small under California standards to allow an elementary school to be built.

Given the significant loss of value to taxpayers the district is likely to fight eminent domain unless the agency was able to engineer a suitable land swap.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletim.com