Middle school doors may close in Lake Havasu City this fall — but college doors could open in their place.

The official decision on whether or not to close Daytona Middle School to satisfy a shrinking budget comes in February, but conversations have started about using the space for the area’s first four-year college if it does sit empty.

The Havasu Foundation for Higher Education started in 2004 to bring a college here, but almost six years later, no firm partnership exists with one of the three major universities statewide and no location has been confirmed.

David A. Young, Arizona State University’s senior vice president of Academic Affairs, announced at the foundation’s annual dinner Jan. 20 that college officials would talk about a possible agreement to allow further data gathering to determine if a four-year college here is feasible.

It would be the foundation’s first solid agreement with a major university, if it comes to fruition.

Young said that, although no final decision on Daytona has been made, the possibility that ASU could use that space sparked further interest in securing this first potential agreement.

He said he learned of the Daytona possibility fewer than two weeks ago.

“If (Daytona) were to become available as an interim site … it gives you a chance to build something without committing to a $50 million campus,” Young said. “The possibility of an interim site is of real interest to us. It gives us a chance to start to try to do something without jumping into the pool head first.”

Lake Havasu Unified School District Governing Board President Jo Navaretta said she “really can’t comment on (the issue), because we haven’t voted officially (on Daytona).”

The vote is expected at the board’s Feb. 16 meeting.

Navaretta also served as the foundation’s president in 2009.

“The (possible) fact of closing Daytona Middle School has nothing to do with any outside (influence) or pressure,” she said.

Voters declined to extend property taxes in November that had helped support the school district for the past four years. That collective decision strips $1.2 million from the district’s budget next fall. Daytona’s closure has an expected $800,000 savings.

Since November, the LHUSD governing board also cut teaching positions next fall, eliminated coaching stipends, and bereavement leave to help meet new budget constraints.

LHUSD Superintendent Gail Malay also declined to comment until after the board’s February vote.

Bill Ullery, the foundation’s volunteer executive director, said the foundation has always considered using existing buildings when talking about starting a new university here.

Currently, Mohave Community College, based in Kingman, has one of its four branches here.

He said for the past several years, affordable empty space hasn’t been available, but with the downturn in the economy, that has changed.

In addition to useable space with little to no renovations, Ullery said a successful college needs to be close to restaurants and shops and the possible Daytona site provides easy access to Main Street.

He also pointed out several of the “under-utilized” hotels near Daytona could transform to college dormitories.

“It’s the only such facility like that in the city,” Ullery said. “That makes it a little different.”

He added that the college needed to have “clear potential” of attracting out-of-state students, particularly from California, to help provide additional revenue.

“Out of all this adversity, there is something good going to evolve,” Ullery said. “And in the long run, it could be as the mayor said (Jan. 20), (this could be) the most significant economic development project in the history of this city other than the establishment of the city and the London Bridge itself.”

Young said ASU officials will further discuss the potential agreement next week, however, no official decision is expected at that time.

The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees university policies and growth, updated its vision plan to become nationally competitive and increase baccalaureate production over the next 10 years in March 2009, according to ABOR spokeswoman Katie Paquet.

Part of that plan includes a “structural evolution for the university system” to provide more cost-efficient, high-access options for students statewide, she said.

One of the components of that plan includes new baccalaureate campuses.

You may contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com