By Ian Hanigan
Daily Breeze

The Wiseburn School District, knee-deep in plans to rebuild Cabrillo Elementary School, has decided to move a proposed day care center away from a block of homes on Glasgow Place.

In response to complaints by Glasgow homeowners, a split school board voted 3-2 Thursday night to place the child care facility closer to Isis Avenue, where a similar structure already exists.

Don Brann, Wiseburn's superintendent, expressed disappointment with the decision on Friday. The point of redesigning the school, he said, was to correct old mistakes, which is why he wanted the building that will be leased to the private Rainbow River child care center near the parking lot on Cabrillo's southeast corner.

That way, Brann said, parents dropping their children off at Rainbow River would not have to come on campus.

"That's what you want to do with these supplementary services that have a lot of people coming and going at different times, you want to divorce them from your school," the superintendent said. "I'm very disappointed by the board's selection ... but we'll make it work."

Before the meeting, residents sandwiched between Cabrillo Elementary and the San Diego (405) Freeway had balked at architectural drawings that showed the 12½-foot-high day care building on the east side of the campus, about 15 feet from the back yards of seven homes.

Many worried about noise, the loss of sunlight and airflow and security issues associated with having a building so close to their backyard fences.

In response, trustees asked architects from Flewelling & Moody to come up with a few alternatives. Of the six options presented, trustees selected option No. 4 Thursday night.

Kathy Woodward, a retired aerospace worker who lives on Glasgow, said she was pleased that the day care center was moved but concerned that a kindergarten building now appears to be closer at a distance of 45 to 50 feet. Still, she said, "I think we're moving in the right direction."

Board President Brian Meath and trustees Dennis Curtis and Walter Guerrero all voted for the option Thursday, while Jo Anne Kaneda and Israel Mora voted against it.