The next meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education, set for Thursday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m., will begin with a closed session on topics ranging from the sale of district property to school employee labor negotiations. 

Most notably, a 9.7-acre parcel of land located 3475 N. Forbes Ave. will be going up for auction

The surplus property, once home to the short-lived La Puerta Intermediate School, was sold in November of 2013 to Brandywine Homes. The transaction—which would have yielded the school district $18,875,000—fell through after the city placed an unexpected limit on the amount of residences that could be built there.

The district is trying for another sale, with Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Lisa Shoemaker negotiating with an identified number of prospective buyers.

The open session will begin at 7 p.m. with recognition of Claremont High School art students who have made a splash in the 2015ArtReach Exhibition. The annual exhibition, on view through Friday, March 27 at the Millard Sheets Art Center at the Pomona Fairplex, is designed to motivate and support the next generation of artists by showcasing their work in a community setting.

The theme of this year’s ArtReach is The Art of Music.

Teens from 100 schools were asked to submit works exploring the role music plays in their lives in the categories of photography, video, drawing, painting and ceramics.

More than 250 pieces were selected via jury for the show, including works by 30-plus CHS students taught by Melissa Wonacott, Tamara Kirkpatrick, Molly Goodreau and Anne Mumper. These talented teens will be given kudos at the school board meeting, as will several special education students who helped create art pieces on records or CDs for an installation called “Stay Tuned” displayed at the exhibition entrance.

Business matters will come to the fore again when Ms. Shoemaker asks the board to accepts bids submitted for an extensive project at Claremont High School, where roof leakage has long been a problem. Ms. Shoemaker will recommend that the board award the bid to Western States Roofing Systems, Inc., which has said it can do the needed roof repairs and renovations for $1,677,000. CUSD will pay an additional $130,000 to The Garland Company for roofing materials, placing the estimated cost of the roofing project at a total of $1,807,000.

Those who support whole child development—a concept that places an emphasis on extra- and co-curricular activities and cultural enrichment along with test scores—will be happy to learn that CUSD students are being exposed to remarkable experiences.

The consent agenda for Thursday’s meeting includes approval of an overnight field trip for 16 students from the CHS dance team who will compete in the USA Dance Nationals in Anaheim on March 20 to March 22 as well as for an overnight field trip for 111 Chaparral Elementary School sixth graders who will attend Outdoor Science Camp at the Lazy W Ranch in Dana Point from May 13 to 15. Also getting a taste of science in an exotic setting will be 20 CHS students in AP biology who will, from May 15 to May 17, head out to a science camping trip in the Mohave Desert.

Like all regular meetings of the Claremont school board, the gathering will be held at the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center, located at 170 W. San Jose Ave. in Claremont.

—Sarah Torribio

storribio@claremont-courier.com