Would an elementary school by any other color still be as attractive? Not if it’s bright blue, said neighbors of Pacific Beach Elementary School at 1234 Tourmaline St.
A “crisis” over color was averted recently when nearby neighbors objected to the choice of blue paint by the school’s recently retired principal. The community, following an early-morning meeting Aug. 17, opted instead for a more neutral – and less conspicuous – beige tone to be used to repaint PBES.
The reaction to the recently unveiled blue hue at the school was immediate.
“A building that large should only be painted in soft neutral tones with ‘no’ separate trim color … not the current garish blue paint color,” stated a recent NextDoor posting. “Residents north of PB Elementary have very nice views and the colors chosen with a lot of trim will only magnify the school and compete with the beautiful landscape of trees, and bay and ocean views. The new color choice (blue) is very inappropriate and not harmonious with the surrounding neighborhood, or with views to the north.”
Heather Worms, PBES Parent Teacher Organization president, praised the community’s compromise solution, as well as citing San Diego Unified School District area superintendent Kimie Lochtefeld for “listening” to the community and helping it achieve a consensus on a more appropriate color choice.
“Most people said it (blue) was too bright, too much,” said Worms. “Only a handful of people didn’t mind it.”
Worms said, with the intervention of SDUSD and Lochtefeld, that the blue paint job “was stopped at the primer phase,” adding their was still time, before the start of the new school year Sept. 8, to “paint it a new color.”
The new color selected for PBE is “a very neutral sand color, a beige,” said Worms, adding, “neighbors are very happy that the color is not going to be blue, they didn’t want the blue.”