Friday, Aug. 01, 2008
Districts get state money to improve facilities
In total, $4.8 million awarded for repairs and construction
By Abby Souza / asouza@mercedsun-star.com
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ReprintCalifornia may not have approved a budget, but that doesn't mean the state has stopped handing out money.
Four Merced County school districts' requests for funds to improve their campuses were awarded by the State Allocation Board, State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell announced last week.
Los Baños Unified, Merced City, Planada Elementary and Winton Elementary school districts received $4.8 million to make emergency repairs and build two gymnasiums.
Statewide, the board awarded more than $202 million to 79 school districts for modernization and construction projects. About $21 million went to 15 school districts for joint-use projects--which means the facility being built can be used and paid for by more than one organization.
Two of those school districts are in Merced County. Merced City School District received $1.5 million for the construction of a new gym at Rivera Middle School. And Los Baños will get a new high school gym.
Rivera doesn't technically have a gym now, said Ken Testa, the district's chief facilities officer. Instead, the students eat lunch, play indoor sports and put on performances in a large multipurpose room at the Buena Vista Drive campus.
The cost of building a gym, which Testa said in May would be about $4 million, is going to be split among the school district, the city of Merced and state funds. Once built, Testa said the city will have full access to the gym one hour after school each day, as long as a school activity isn't planned, using it mainly for recreation activities.
Now that the funds have been approved, Testa believes the gym could be built and ready for use by fall 2010. An on-campus location for the gym has yet to be determined.
The other funded joint-use project is a gym for a new high school in the Los Baños Unified School District.
The community passed a bond measure in February to build a new high school on 68 acres at the corner of Ward Road and Snow Goose Drive, said Superintendent Steve Tietjen. "The joint-use state grant is for the main gym on that campus," he said. The gym project will be paid for by the city of Los Baños, the school district and the $2 million awarded by the state allocation board.
The board also handed out $11 million to 25 school districts--two of which are located in Merced County - to pay for emergency repairs at their campuses.
The Winton Elementary School District was awarded about $1.2 million for fixes needed at Sybil N. Crookham Elementary and Winton Middle schools.
"The roof at Crookham is very old," said Linda Thompson, the district's director of fiscal services. "We've been having trouble with leaks." The roofing at the school will be replaced with an all-metal roof, which Thompson said should last a very long time.
Winton Middle School will also get a new roof. The original roof was not put on right, Thompson said, which has led to leaning problems. Thompson said most of the roof work will take place next summer. "It's something you need to do when school is not in session," she explained.
The Planada Elementary School District was awarded almost $54,000 to turn two portable classrooms into a teacher meeting room. "We don't have a place to house all our teachers at one time," said Superintendent Steve Gomes. "At least, not one with air conditioning."
The portables, which have been used as storage rooms for the past couple of years, are being converted into a professional development center for the district's staff. They should be ready soon, Gomes said, as he plans to use the rooms for a community event late next week.
The state allocation board is responsible for determining how state resources, such as income from state bond measures, should be used to fund school projects. And while student population in Merced County--as well as the state--continues to plateau, O'Connell said "the need for new and improved schools remains great because of the age of our facilities."
In the next five years, O'Connell said the state needs to build 16 new classrooms and modernize another 21 each day to provide safe learning environments for California's students.
In other words, budget or no budget, these projects need to get done.
Merced Sun-Star reporter Abby Souza can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or asouza@mercedsun-star.com.