Friday, Aug. 22, 2008
Groundbreaking marks new chapter in district
Construction of second high school begins
By Minerva Perez / mperez@losbanosenterprise.com
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ReprintIt was a perfect day for a fresh start in Los Baños as construction for a much needed new high school officially began.
"The building of this high school has been long in coming, which makes this day all the more sweeter," Andree Soares, president of the Los Baños Unified School District Board of Education, said.
Soares along with school district and community members gathered Tuesday at Ward Road and Palermo Drive for the groundbreaking of what will be Los Baños' long-awaited second high school.
Once completed the new high school, which is still unnamed, will house 1,800 students in 74 classrooms. It will also feature two gymnasiums, a pool, stadium and theater.
Superintendent Steve Tietjen said the campus will be something the community will be proud of and thanked voters for their support of Measure K, the $44 million general obligation bond approved in February that helped finance the construction of the new high school and an elementary school.
"Schools are truly a reflection of the community," Tietjen said. "We will have 74 classrooms, 74 opportunities for students to succeed; opportunities they will not have had otherwise."
F & H Construction Inc., the general contractor hired to build the new high school, already has equipment on the site and dirt should be moving any day now, Tietjen said.
Trustees approved the contract with F & H Construction at its Aug. 14 meeting. The contract states the high school will be completed in 699 days and cost $62.8 million, $3.2 million less than expected. The district's total budget for the project, including fees and oversight costs, is $65.8 million.
Charles Ferrell, vice president of business development for F & H Construction, said at the trustee meeting that it is his company's goal to have the school completed in 18 months.
"We told Steve (Tietjen) 21 months but our last school was 18 months," Ferrell told trustees.
F & H Construction was the general contractor of Westin Ranch, Lathrop and Kimball high schools all of which share the same design as Los Baños' new facility.
Ferrell was present at the groundbreaking as were the local subcontractors who were chosen this month to complete major portions of the work.
The groundbreaking is the beginning of a new chapter for the Los Baños Unified School District but also the end of a long one filled with disappointment.
"We had two heartbreaking failed attempts," Soares said referring to the district's previous efforts to pass a general obligation bond.
In 2003 Measure L failed. In 2005 Measure A1 was defeated by 44 votes. And in 2006 school board members gave up before ever placing a bond on the ballot after they received negative feedback from polling data.
The district had sought funding from developer mitigation agreements and joint-use ventures with the city but "Measure K was the missing piece to make this (happen)," Soares said.
Measure K, which only required 55 percent approval, passed with a 65 percent 'Yes' vote.
Tietjen said the bond helped the school district come up with its required half of the money to build a new school and the state paid the rest, in this case only 30.39 percent.
The campus will be paid for with $20 million coming from the state for the base school, $2 million from the joint-use gym which is also from the state, $3 million from a state grant the school district received for its career and technology program, $6.8 million from developer's fees which paid for land and applies toward the joint-use facilities and $34 million from bond proceeds.
"Any savings that is achieved below the total budget of 65.8 million we will return to the capital facilities fund and put toward the next elementary school," Tietjen said.
Merced County Office of Education Superintendent Lee Andersen said county school districts should look to Los Baños when it comes to their own upcoming bond elections.
"This shows the way for other school districts in the county," Andersen said.
Andersen said Merced Unified High School District will have a bond on the November ballot to help finance the construction of a new high school in Merced, hopefully adding yet another school in the county.
The last school built in Merced County was Winfield Elementary School by the Winton Elementary School District in 2007.
For the Los Baños school district it has been five years since its last groundbreaking ceremony but trustee Colleen Menefee said the city has been waiting for a new high school for the past 25 years.
"This is really going to add to the quality of life in Los Baños," she said.
Enterprise reporter Minerva Perez can be reached by phone at (209)388-6565 or by e-mail at mperez@losbanosenterprise.com