San Benito High School trustees approved adding two facilities projects to a growing list of work paid for by general fund money and re-prioritized ones that will be funded by the bond during a special meeting this week.
The board’s decision to meet Tuesday to re-prioritize projects for a $42.5 million general obligation facilities bond came a year and four months after the measure’s passage in June 2014.
After a lengthy discussion, Trustee Steve Delay made a motion to pay for closing Nash Road and the demolition of classrooms nicknamed “hog feeders” located along the same street, using general fund money. He asked staff officials to continue work on plans for a visual performing arts building and to get more information about a possible science modernization. Trustee Evelyn Muro seconded the motion and trustees approved it 5-0 in a roll call vote.
The list of possible bond projects shared with trustees at the meeting totaled about $72.7 million and included an $8 million pool as the lowest-priority item. Trustees previously tabled prioritizing a list of facilities projects set for funding with bond money in mid-October after asking staff officials for a bigger-picture view of non-bond projects.
Prior to the meeting, about $9.6 million in general fund money had been set aside to do facilities upgrades but that amount increased to $11.4 million by the end of the gathering this week. Projects previously planned with general fund money included an $8.3 million physical education building, an $800,000 skylight and modernization project for Mattson Gym and a $500,000 roof replacement and repair project for the 170 and 340 classrooms. At the meeting, trustees added closing Nash Road and demolishing the hog feeder classrooms.
Before the meeting, the district had about $24.3 million of bond projects in progress or completed. Those projects included about $3.8 million in modernizations and air conditioning for the 300 and 400 wing classrooms; a $3.1 million tennis court and a parking lot project; and a $17.4 million vocational education building.
That leaves about $17.4 million (in bond funds) left to assign, said Roseanne Lascano, the district’s director of finance and operations.
At the meeting, trustees considered a prioritized list created by the superintendent, which placed a schoolwide communication system—including telephones, better bandwidth and an intercom system—at the top of the list, followed by the demolition of the hog feeder classrooms along Nash Road and the modernization of 100 and 200 wing classrooms.
The superintendent’s list had money to close Nash Road in priority slot 9—the district would be long out of bond funds—with class modernizations, a science modernization, adding signs to campus, a performing arts building, and changes to the ag building and auto shop above it.
“I have a concern with our priorities here. I mean Nash Road, it’s way down there,” Delay said. “I want to move that up and the same thing with the ag building…It’s a smaller amount of money and it fits in our Master Plan.”
Trustees also raised concerns about the state of the Associated Student Body and band rooms, items that were priorities seven and 12 on the superintendent’s proposed list. Trustee Juan Robledo—who had ties to the school’s ASB program in the past—mentioned the dismal state of the current building.
“If you really want to see a building that’s about to fall down, that’s the one,” he said.
They also discussed the number of classrooms created by the $7.9 million science modernization project and the viability of the rooms the district planned to modernize.
In looking at a $7.9 million science modernization versus a $10 million visual and performing arts modernization, Tiffany pushed for making science the priority, he said. The bond was already going to a lot of non-core academic projects, the trustee said.
Staff and trustees also discussed the possibility of voters approving a state bond, which would allow the district additional money for facilities work.
At the very bottom of the priorities list in slot number 13 was an $8 million swimming pool, which has been a contentious subject this year ever since it was closed briefly earlier this year after the school was issued a “cease and desist notice” by the city and the county water board.
“I hate to bring this up, but there’s that looming swimming pool question out there and what are we going to do?” Muro said. “At some point down the line it’s going to break down again and up until that point, we’re going to be throwing money at it.”
General Fund projects:
PE addition: $8.3 million (in progress)
Mattson Skylight Replacement: $800,000 (in progress)
Roof replacement: $500,000
Nash Road: $1.6 million
Hog feeder classroom demolition: $200,000
TOTAL: $11.4 million
Bond projects:
AC for 300 wing: $2 million (done)
AC for 400 wing: $1.1 million (done)
300 wing modernization: $600,000 (done)
Tennis courts/ parking lots: $3 million (in progress)
Vocational education building: $17.4 million (in progress)
Communications $3.6 million
TOTAL: $27.7 million
Other possible bond projects*:
AC and modernization for 100 and 200 classrooms: $9.5 million
Science modernization: $7.9 million
Signage for campus: $1.1 million
Visual and Performing Arts Building: $10 million
Ag building/ ASB conversion: $800,000
Auto shop/ exploring tech conversion: $900,000
Special education modernization: $2.3 million
Music building replacement: $2 million
Swimming pool: $8 million
Total: $42.5 million
*No order approved by trustees
