Excerpts from the Watsonville Register Pajaronian, Feb. 26, 2000

about 1986 to 1992 and a marked increase in activity followed and continued through the 90's. That increase is expected to continue he said.

``Our jet flow (sales of jet fuel) is up 100 percent in the past five years,'' French said. Also, the number of jet aircraft at the airport has increased from three in 1991 to nine.

Gargas evaluated a total of 11 sites in 1992 as part of the district's site selection process using a map provided by the school district. The location of the now proposed school site was indicated on the map by a small rectangle drawn parallel to Harkins Slough Rd. That rectangle occupies only a fraction of the land currently being acquired by the district. According to Gargas, if the proposed site is outside of the area he was asked to evaluate, a new evaluation would be required. ``We evaluated what we were submitted,'' he said. ``It's incumbent on the school district to accurately depict the area to be evaluated. We take the maps we are given and do the evaluations.'' Casey concedes that not all of the planned facilities can fit within the area depicted by the rectangle but insists that most will. ``All the buildings are within the box,'' he said. ``I believe the buffer is outside and a little of the stadium and part of a ball field are outside of the box.'' The precise location of the school's facilities including classrooms, athletic fields and football stadium has been the subject of recent meetings and discussions between the school district and the Departments of Transportation and Education. ``We've asked the district to provide a schematic that shows the placement of the school within the 55 acres relative to the site that aeronautics approved,'' said John Dominguez consultant for the Department of Education who indicated he expects a response within the next week. ``The site hasn't been approved yet.'' he said.

The Department of Transportation and other state and local agencies evaluate potential school sites for the state Department of Education to ensure that sites chosen by local school districts are suitable for school development.

The new conditions that may force the school closer to the airport have heightened concerns regarding the site's acceptability. And questions are also being raised about the adequacy of the 1992 and 1997 evaluations conducted by Gargas.