Ian Morrell sent Lake Forest Patch the following letter to the editor:
Right now El Toro and Trabuco Hills High Schools are the two largest high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. Combined, they have a student population of 5,735!.... 58% of all district high schoolers.
Not only has the student population grown, but participation rates and the number of teams has also grown! Over the past 20 years, the total number of athletes at both schools that would be served by a field grew by a whopping 134%!... to approximately 2,010 in 2011 from 860 in 1991. The number of teams also grew by 46%!... to 57 in 2011 from 39 in 1991.
No wonder we’ve outgrown the shared use agreement for the Trabuco Hills Stadium. We really do need the field improvements at El Toro!
According to the 2010 Census, there are 19,115 children under the age of 18 in Lake Forest (a quarter of our city’s population.) Eventually, a majority of these children will pass through El Toro High, becoming involved in extracurricular activities such as Football, Lacrosse, Cheer, Song, Marching Band, Color Guard, Winter Percussion, Soccer, and Track and Field, ....to name a few.
According to a future enrollment report, the new housing developments in Lake Forest would potentially add an additional 1,900 students to the district’s student population. The two closest high schools to these areas are El Toro and Trabuco Hills.
With the student population growth at both El Toro and Trabuco Hills, the El Toro Bleacher and Lighting Improvement Project increases availability of the two fields to more students at both schools; alleviates scheduling issues for field time; removes logistical challenges, such as student and equipment transportation to offsite fields; provides onsite health and safety for the students; and minimizes impacts to classroom time used for early dismissal for extracurricular events.
