The district sought approval from the town's planning commission last week to build a two-story office at the middle school. The commission ultimately approved the application, but with the condition that the proposed structure be redesigned to one story so as not to intrude on the privacy of adjacent residents.

For the time being, the district office occupies 2,700 square feet of space at Daves Avenue Elementary School, equivalent to three classroom spaces. The district also utilizes the school's library to hold board meetings.

The district has been functioning in this capacity for years, but district officials say it is time to relocate so that it can renovate the elementary school.

A previous bond measure gave the district money to renovate Van Meter and Daves elementary schools. Work has already progressed to a notable degree at Van Meter, and the district would like to start renovating Daves as well within the next year, said Mary Ann Park, superintendent of the district.

For work to proceed at Daves, however, the district must vacate its office so that the space it now occupies can be converted back into classrooms for students, she said.

Though there is no time limit in which to use the bond money, Park said the district has an obligation to fulfill the promise to parents who voted to give money for the renovation of the school. While renovation of the elementary schools would be funded by bond money, construction of a new district office would be financed with redevelopment funds from the district.

Three members of the audience who objected to the district's plans for a two-story office building at Fisher Middle School were the immediate neighbors to the proposed site. The residents were mainly concerned with privacy issues related to having a multi-story structure next to their single-story homes.

"This is tantamount to building a two-story apartment," said resident Brett Stark, adding that there has not been adequate time to consider alternate plans.

Stark's wife, Buffie, said she found the proposed colors for the building "alarming" and that the bright yellow was not consistent with the beige and tan colors of the neighborhood.

Commissioner Michael Burke asked if it was necessary to increase office space from the existing 2,700 square feet to the proposed 7,000 square feet at the new site.

Daves Avenue Elementary is considered the district's home, but some district employees now work out of unused classrooms at other school sites because there is not enough space for them at Daves. The added space at the proposed building would allow all district employees to work out of one central location, Park said.

The increased square footage would also enable the district to provide an adequate board room that would be more conducive for holding public meetings than the current location at the Daves library, the superintendent said.

Commission chairman Paul Dubois objected to the plans that the district presented last week and sided with residents who said that a two-story building is incompatible with the neighborhood. He asked the district to consider a one-story, 7,000-square-foot building instead.

But spreading the building out into one story would leave less space for parking, said David Orozco, project manager for the architecture firm HMC. In fact, he said, it would not leave enough room to meet the town's minimum parking space requirement.

Another option would be for the district to locate the proposed two-story building further away from residential property line to alleviate some privacy concerns. But such a move would require the district to take space away from the school's athletic fields, thus upsetting the student athletes and their parents, Orozco said.

"We're kind of stuck between two places," he said about having to contend with either nearby residents or parents of student athletes.

In a 4-1 vote, with Vice Chair Jeanne Drexel absent and Commissioner Joanne Talesfore recusing herself, the commission granted conditional approval to the district's application. The conditions the commission imposed were for the district to redesign the building to one story, that it follow the recommendations of the town architect and that it reconsider the color for the building's exterior.

Commissioner Lee Quintana cast the dissenting vote because she said she could not make the finding to remove seven eucalyptus trees from the proposed project site.

Another issue the district now faces is the need to satisfy the town's architect. According to Orozco, the base price for the proposed two-story office is roughly $830,000. Meeting the recommendations of the town architect would mean an additional $30,000.

Park continually reiterated the school district's goal to not spend more money on the project than what the district feels is absolutely necessary, especially given today's financial crisis. The district is seeking a building that "meets the needs of the district but is not ostentatious," she said.

But with the commission's demand that the proposed office not be two stories, the district is now researching the cost of a one-story structure. The district has until the end of this week to appeal the commission's decision. Park said the district is still considering its next course of action.