Hart district board members could select a site for the new Castaic high school as early as Wednesday, when a meeting is set with three property owners and consultants about three possible locations for the much-needed school.

“We’re going to get the facts out,” said Jaime Castellanos, superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District.

The session comes just weeks before two new board members, Joe Messina and Bob Jensen, will be sworn in.

The special two-hour meeting, beginning 5 p.m. at the district office, will include presentations from a series of consultants to discuss traffic patterns, availability of public resources and any environmental concerns for each of the three sites.

“We are trying to do everything we can at this point to make sure we don’t miss anything in the process,” chief operations officer Rob Gapper said.

The three property owners and their representatives are expected to attend the event, along with members of the Castaic Union School District board and the Castaic Area Town Council, Castellanos said.

The three possible sites include Romero Canyon acreage owned by Larry Rasmussen, the Green Valley Ranch property owned by Hunt Williams, and the Hasley/Sloan property owned since 2002 by the SCV Facilities Foundation. Rick Patterson, president of the foundation that purchases land on behalf of the Hart district, will represent that site.

District officials said they expect 50 people to show up for the meeting, which will be held in the 90-person-capacity district board room. Presentations lasting about 15 minutes will be made on each site, Gapper said.

Each of the three presentations will include time for public comment and board discussion, Castellanos said.

The future board
The meeting is the last for Hart district board members until Dec. 9, when Bob Jensen and Joe Messina will be sworn in. Some individuals criticized the Hart district for rushing to a decision before the new members are seated.

Jensen and Messina will be able to take part in the discussion of each property but will not have a vote.

“My hope is that I’ll be at least able to participate as an upcoming board member,” Jensen said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich issued a letter to board President Steve Sturgeon saying it is “vital” that the vote be delayed until the new board is seated.

“I would anticipate the current board would continue the decision of site selection until the two new board members are sworn in the first week of December,” the letter reads.

Messina wishes the board would hold off until he and Jensen are sworn in to replace Dennis King and Patricia Hanrion.

“I don’t think two weeks is going to make that big of a difference,” Messina said.

Castellanos doesn’t want to delay a process that’s taken a decade already.

“I don’t want to wait,” he said. “Now is the time to move forward.”

Although Messina acknowledges that the current board is trying to do the right thing, holding off on a vote would allow board members and the public to process the information about the three sites before making a final decision.

Castellanos cited the current board’s decade of experience with locating a Castaic high school site as a reason it should be the group that votes on a location.

“I think this is the board that should be making the decision,” Castellanos said.

Wednesday’s outcome
The board Wednesday could recommend any or all of the three sites under consideration.

Castellanos hopes the board will recommend two sites as preferred locations in case one of the sites falls through during the environmental impact report process.

If the board makes a decision about which of the properties to continue with, Castellanos said the Hart district will spend the next two to three months reaching out to the Castaic community. Residents near the sites have raised objections at the prospect of a new school built in their neighborhoods.

“One obstacle will be our ability to work with whatever community is impacted to get them on board,” Gapper said.

Castellanos hopes to begin the environmental impact report process early next year. That process can take 12 to 18 months.

The Hart district maintains its goal to open Castaic high school in August 2013, but it acknowledges the challenges ahead.

“We just don’t know what an (environmental impact report) might find,” Gapper said.