Vista del Lago opens with view toward big growth

Jacob Mayfield is wise beyond his years.

Among the reasons the 15-year-old sophomore transferred to Vista del Lago High School this fall: "Every year I'll be in the oldest class."

That's just one benefit of attending the newest high school in Sacramento County, which opened Monday with only freshmen and sophomores. Mayfield will be among the school's first graduating class in 2010.

While some school districts in the county, such as San Juan Unified, are closing campuses because of shrinking enrollment, Folsom Cordova Unified is trying to keep pace with a burgeoning student population.

The district, encompassing the fast-growing cities of Folsom and Rancho Cordova, also opened a new elementary school in Folsom on Monday, just down the street from Vista del Lago.

And last spring, district voters approved a $750 million school bond -- the largest such bond in county history -- to help pay for $1.7 billion in new schools anticipated in the next quarter-century.

Vista del Lago, which in Spanish means "View of the Lake," was scheduled to open last fall to help relieve overcrowding at Folsom High School. But construction was delayed when soil samples taken at the school site three years ago revealed levels of naturally occurring asbestos that exceeded state standards.

A mitigation plan to cap much of the 51-acre site was undertaken, delaying the school's opening until this year and driving Vista del Lago's price tag to $98 million.

However, asbestos was only one of the challenges faced by the district as it moved forward five years ago with plans to build a high school in the hilly eastern portion of Folsom.

"It was hard to find a high school site," said Debbie Bettencourt, district chief financial officer. Bettencourt said that because of eastern Folsom's topography, construction crews had to make major cuts into a hillside to create room for a campus.

But none of that weighed on the minds of the 630 students who walked, biked or were driven to school Monday morning.

They were more concerned with finding the way to their first class.

"We got lost already," said freshman Ashli Christ, who stood in front of the school with her friends, graduates of Folsom Middle School.

As the bell for first period rang, many students scrambled to find their classrooms.

"Oh my god! Where's Mr. Bravo?" one panicked girl shouted.

Despite campus orientations for students and parents, apparently not everybody was paying attention.

Even so, a few minutes after first period began everyone was in class and the only people walking the campus were workers wearing yellow hard hats.

Construction crews will be commonplace at Vista del Lago as Phase II of the campus -- including a joint-use library serving students and the surrounding community, a career/technical education classroom building and a pool building -- is scheduled to be completed in March 2008.

In the meantime, teachers like Vince Martini, director of the school's music program, will hold classes in locations such as the multipurpose room.

The music program will include a wide variety of offerings -- including a concert band, string orchestra and choir.

As students arrived at school Monday they were greeted by Principal John Dixon, who temporarily assumed the role of traffic monitor.

"So far, so good. We're waiting for the first bell to ring," Dixon said as he supervised the flow of vehicles.

Dixon, who served as a vice principal at Folsom High last year, didn't get much sleep the past week in anticipation of Vista del Lago's opening.

"We've been working around the clock," Dixon said of himself and his staff.

One of the differences between Vista del Lago and other high schools in the district -- besides its view of Folsom Lake -- is its use of a 4X4 block schedule. It allows students to complete an entire course in one term, providing more opportunities to take honors and advanced placement courses.

As he sat in the new school's spacious courtyard, Austin Dykes, a sophomore who transferred from Folsom High, noticed something else he liked.

"There's a lot less people here," he said.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Walter Yost can be reached at (916) 608-7449 or wyost@sacbee.com.